Outlived
by MidnightIsland
Summary: (First story! New Chapters regularly) When Lee wakes up in the jewelry store he died in, he must search far and wide for the girl he was forced to leave behind.
1. 10 Dreams at Once

It's all a strange blur, like having 10 dreams at once.

"I'm Clementine…this is my house…" Clementine said, nervously.

"Get the fuck out of here!" Hershel yelled.

"Hey…you friendly? We're all out of gas…" Kenny said.

"Argh!" Larry groaned.

"Is he the one bitten?" I said in a panic.

"You're not coming with us you son of a bitch!" Larry said, throwing a punch in my face.

"Travis!" Ben yelled, throwing his hand towards his friend.

"Just come on, okay?" Clementine said, tugging at Ben's hand.

"Are you armed?" Carley yelled, pointing her gun at the St. John brothers.

"Oh, looks like they're having a little spat." Mrs. St. John said.

"Well, you're…y'know…urban…" Kenny said, awkwardly.

"Oh boy, dinner time!" Duck said, running out of the barn, but stopping at the door waiting for his mother.

"Brothers…don't…eat…dinner…" Mark said, reaching for Lee.

"Fucking vulture…" Lilly growled, crouching over her father's body.

"It's over!" I yelled, the rain pouring down on my skin.

"It's yours now…" I said, handing Clementine a red hoodie.

"Somebody! Help me!" The woman yelled, screaming as walkers clamped onto her, sinking their teeth into her legs.

"Hey, sweet pea, that's neat. I'll find you in a bit." I said, smiling down at Clementine who was holding her walkie-talkie up in front of me.

"It's not gonna be easier out on the road!" Lilly screamed, kicking everyone out of her room.

"What's with the third degree?" Ben said, in his normal nervous voice.

"Just chill the fuck out!" Carley yelled at Lilly, as she sat in the RV.

"Ah!" I exclaimed as I quickly awoke with a jump, from the nightmare I had.

"Swear…" Clementine said, as I angrily got up from my seat, to go and talk to chuck.

"I got it!" Clementine said, as she turned around from the broken glass.

"Maybe there's some kind of pill or something!" Kenny said, shuddering before the sight of him and his infected son.

"Oh, so he's allowed to swear?" I smiled, standing close to Clementine.

"We've got to jump!" I said, before pushing Omid down onto the train roof.

"Hello? Who is this?!" I yelled into the walkie-talkie, with no answer.

"It tolls for thee…" Chuck said, looking at the approaching hoard of walkers.

"I'm fine, honey, it's just the smell." Christa said, getting up from the ground.

"Kinda looks like him, don't ya think?" Kenny said, looking down at the pathetic walker, trying to grab at his foot.

"Come here, sweet pea…" I said with my arms wide open.

"Crawford must be wear my mom and dad are!" Clementine said.

"You had one job, Ben!" I growled.

I notice a bright light, it flashes in my eyes, I struggle to regain my sight…

"She's 9…" The stranger said, as I stared at him with cold eyes, my bite stinging.

"Please…don't become one of them…" Clementine said, standing above me with tears streaming down her face.

"…Keep that hair short…" I said, with a few final tears.

I notice the same light again, coming from an open door…I stare at it, trying to shuffle towards it, being blocked by the handcuffs, tugging against my wrist. But before I can get to it, the door slams shut and I awake with a scream.

I pant and sigh, trying to get my breath back. I look around me, I can barely tell where I am, but I quickly remember. The Jewellery store. I move my attention to my arm, immediately, my bite is still there, but faded slightly, my skin more colourful than what it used to be. "Am…am I dead?" I say out loud, then it hit me, I was speaking out loud, my voice was raspy, but I was definitely speaking. I tug on my handcuffs and grunt.

I sit back, with a sigh, but before long I hear drumming, a lot of it, with a choir of growls, it's coming from next to me, walkers are smashing against metal shutters. I collect myself and look around me, franticly looking for something I can use to get out of the cuffs. "Bingo…" I say, as I spot a shard of ceramic material, a few pieces, sprayed across the floor, I grab a piece that had landed next to me and begin to file away at the chain, there was a slight hint of rust so I start there. After a few minutes of frantic filing I hear a snap, it had worked!

I toss the shard to the side and stand up, a wrist of the cuff still latched onto me. I stand up, immediately falling back down, my legs weak and shuddering. "C'mon…c'mon!" I say, trying to move my legs. I smack my head against the floor and sigh, a tear welling in my right eye. I stop and stare up at the ceiling. 'You're not giving up now, after all you've been through, you've come back from death…it must be a sign.' I think to myself, I sit up and get on all fours, I grab my hand on the ledge of a bulletproof window, next to an open door.

I help myself up and shuffle across, feeling strength back into my legs. I didn't risk falling, so I kept shuffling along, using walls and ledges to help myself along until I reach the door with the beautiful green exit sign on it. I remember it, the wall from whatever kind of dream I was having, the one that slam shut, I immediately swing it open, the growling from the inside becoming like a riot.

I knew a hoard was awaiting me, but I wasn't letting this go, the only reason I could think I survived this is because I had a job to do…I had to find my girl.


	2. Interrogation

I shuffle along the wall of a nearby building, going as fast as I can, luckily the alleyway the exit lead into had two ways, the other side of the street completely empty, a few walkers and bodies scattered around. I don't know whether this is some kind of coma dream, or some kind of hallucination, or if I'm still living, but either way, I'm getting out of savannah, I can see the golden hills from where I'm standing, they look about a mile off but it's the only plan I have.

Still sticking to walls, I limp across the sidewalk, making sure there are no walkers around, I look up, to see where I'm going, realising there's a long dark tunnel full of growls, echoing a demented orchestra.

My legs begin to shake and I lose my grip on the wall, I collapse onto the ground with a bang. In my blurred and shaky vision I see a few figures walking closer and closer to me. "Wha…who are you?" I say, my voice still raspy and weak. Instead of saying anything they limp and stumble closer. "Of course…"

"Alright…legs…don't fuck up now." I whisper out loud, as I jump back to my feet, I fall again, I watch closer as the walkers approach more. I sigh and try again, slowly getting back onto my feet. "One step…" I say, putting my leg in front of the other, I stay shaky, but still stable. "Two steps…" I say putting my other leg parallel with the other, I repeat this a few times, as if I was a toddler trying to learn to walk.

I keep walking, about the same pace as the walkers trying to catch up to me, before I know it I am jogging away and I then begin to run, not as fast as I could, but I'm running, running around the dark tunnel. I snap behind me, the walkers aren't catching up to me, it would take a miracle for them to grab me now. After I'm sure I'm safe I stop into a relaxed walk, my legs still feeling uncomfortable about walking after god knows how long asleep, I soldier on still limping slightly.

I look up in front of me, as I find myself on a slope. It was a small hill the tunnel was built in to, this would by far be my hardest challenge since I woke up. I sigh and slowly lay my hands on the slope, and try and climb up, I fail miserably, stumbling back down. I look behind me, the walkers approaching closer. I growl and grab onto the grass and dirt, and firmly kick my shoes into the earth. I slowly move my arms and legs, to me, the ordeal being equivalent to climbing Everest, before I know it I'm at the top, blocked by a concrete barrier, the top of the hill, above the tunnel, being used as a highway.

I topple myself over the barrier and land on my back, with a sigh I breathe deeply, contemplating how long I was sleeping for to not be able to walk properly. I'm about to get up until I hear a voice, a deep voice, with a thick Texan accent. "I'm tellin' ya'll, she was squealing like a pig, put a spike right through her forehead…" He cackled.

"Oh, that's complete 'shit and you know it, she was about 9 years old and she knocked you on your ass, you were left cryin' like a baby before I put a bullet in er'!" A woman says, again with a thick Texan accent.

I clench my fists and help myself back up to my feet, hiding behind a rusty old broken down car, looking like it had been there for a decade. I hear multiple pairs of footsteps approaching, I count six in total, three pairs.

"Stop…you...you smell that? Smells like complete bullshit…" A third voice says, with a Bostonian accent. The man and the woman laugh while the man with the thick accent just grows angry, grunting and growling.

I, still quite a few meters away, starts to contemplate it, thinking what to do next. I think, their voices sound slurred, possibly slightly drunk, one of them angry, and me quiet and hidden, the element of surprise on my hand.

I shuffle backwards as they approach, accidently stepping on glass, making a quiet cracking noise. "What was that?" The Bostonian says.

I sigh, and jump out at them, socking one of them in the nose and knocking him over, and grabbing a handgun he was loosely holding to his side. I drop down, laying my knee on the fallen man's chest and holding the gun up to his head. "Don't move, you three are going to answer some questions if you want to live." I growl, my voice less raspy now.

"Alright, buddy, nobody needs to get hurt." The man I'm holding hostage says, in his Texan accent. He's a short man, looking so weak, it's as though an infant could get him on his knees.

"Damn right they do, get off my friend, asshole!" The woman says, she looks hideous, her rotten, yellow, teeth could be knocked out with a pillow and her hair looks greasy and messy.

"Shut up, Bianca. Just tell us what you want, man." The Bostonian says.

"What year is it?" I spit, leading to their confusing faces.

"Uh…damn, I dunno, 2013, now I guess?" The Texan man said.

"Okay…and this girl you were talking about, what'd she look like?"

"Uh…she was short, a little chubby, long blonde hair, pale skin." The woman say.

"And you two can agree on this?" I growl, making sure.

"Yeah." The men say together.

"Okay…seen any other kids? Ball cap, dress, and hoodie?" I sigh, with a glimmer of hope in my heart.

"…Nah…wait! This kid, I saw her while I was out taking a leak, I caught her in the woods, with two other guys, woman and a man, looks as though you describe her. I let her go, the two were holding guns up to my head, that's gotta be about 3 weeks ago, now?" The Bostonian says. I can't be sure, but it's all I have to go on.

"Thanks…I'm sorry…" I say, my heart dropping as I move the handgun to the Texan's mouth. "Drop your weapons and kick them over, then kneel on the ground." I say, with a deep sigh. They do as I say, shivering for their friend's life. "I can't take chances, not now, it's too important…" I say, immediately pulling the trigger in the Texans mouth, supressed through the flesh, I snap over to the woman and pull the trigger, landing a bullet, knocking off course into her neck, my aim still shaky, I snap around, the Bostonian attempts to grab his weapon, but I catch him before hand, and shoot a bullet between the eyes.

I get up from the bodies, subconsciously impressed at my still sharp aim, I grab the rifle the woman was holding and sway the strap around my shoulder, and grab the other hand gun the Bostonian was wielding, I put another bullet through the woman's brain before taking off, down the direction they were walking away from, in search of my girl.


	3. Apocalypse Junkies

**(Hey! I hope you're enjoying the story, guests or members, please let me know how you're feeling about it by leaving a review, it really helps me improve my writing and to keep me motivated!  
Thank you. One more thing, I find that writing in the first person in present tense makes for difficult writing, full of mistakes that took ages to correct, so I've decided to change it to third person in person. I hope that this doesn't make things too confusing, but if it does, just let me know by sending me a pm or leaving me a review, and they will be duly noted. I hope you enjoy!)**

* * *

Lee was exhausted, and was struggling to walk, feeling he was about to collapse, he decided to rest on a nearby rock for a while. Hungry and thirsty, he tried to think out a plan to find some food and water. That was until he heard laughing and cackling from behind him.

He snapped his head around and it took his breath away, there was a small orange glow coming from in the woods. Lee quickly hopped up and dropped his arms to his side, putting the handguns he was holding in the back of his pants and approached the glow, with his arms raised.

"Hello? Excuse me, are you armed?!" Lee said, loudly. "I don't want to hurt anybody, I just need some help." He said.

That was when Lee was weirded out, they didn't grab their weapons, like he assumed. One man with a giggly high pitched accent just beckoned him over. "Dude, just…" he coughs in between words. "Just come sit down, man." He said, slurring his words.

Lee dropped his rifle next to a tree, keeping his handguns close to him, and sat next to the man who had called him over, he was a messy looking man, shoulder length scruffy hair, and tanned skin, he was wearing laid-back clothes, a hoodie, t-shirt, and jeans.

There were four others with him, a slender and lanky teenager, who looked about seventeen, another girl, who looked about fifteen, a man, who looked like he was about in his mid-thirties, and surprisingly a much older-looking woman, with short silver-grey hair, a cardigan and a flowery dress.

All of them, Lee realised were holding self-wrapped cigarettes of some kind. "Uh…thanks, do you guys have any water?" Lee asked.

"Way ahead of you, man." The teenage girl said, passing him a plastic bottle full of clean water. Lee nodded and chugged the water down.

"Want some…uh, wacky?" The man in his thirties said, passing him one of the self-rolled cigarettes.

Lee finished the mouthful of water he had, and thought about it for a second. "Dude, you look down, you should, like, try it. Like…and…ha, dude, like, I, like totally forgot what I was saying, what was I doing…?" The scruffy-haired man said.

"You were disappointing everyone, darling." The older woman said. She sounded a lot more sensible and sober than the others. Obviously not taking part in the smoking that they were. "I wouldn't do it, Mr…"

"Oh, Lee, ma'am." He said, trying to be respectful.

"Haha, see, he's a charmer, why can't you be like him, Stevie?" The woman said, addressing the shaggy-haired man.

"Dude, he's just like, too stressed, just let go, dude." The teenage boy said.

"I'm…uh, fine thank you. So, who are you guys?" Lee asked, awkwardly.

"I'm Delia, but you can call me DD." The teenage girl said. "I bet my parents were like, totally on drugs when they named me that…"

"Yes…that would explain an awful lot, wouldn't it, darling? My name is Eve. It's a pleasure to meet a person who has sense in what they're doing." The old woman said, snootily.

"I'm Chay." The teenage boy said, with his same slurred accent.

"You can like…uh…call me Stanley." The mid-thirties man.

"Nice to meet you. Is this all your group?" Lee asked, slightly more relaxed.

"Nah, there's one more, he's using the bathroom." DD said in a giggly voice.

"Wait, what?!" A man said as he approached the camp, Lee expecting him to be confused about the strange man sat in their camp. "You're toking up without me? What the hell?!" The man said, snatching a joint from Chay. "Oh yeah, who's this guy?" He said, sitting down parallel do Lee.

"Oh, this is…Lee, I think. Lee, I think…this is Wyatt." Stevie said.

"Hey." Lee said.

"Hey…uh, Lee, so you're from Savannah? Or at least went through there? Or near it?" Wyatt said, taking a break from his cigarette.

"Yeah…but that is a long story…" Lee said, with a slight laugh.

"Did you see a guy there? Beanie, earing, a beard, sorta'? His names Eddie." Wyatt explained.

"Sorry, that place is a wasteland, covered in walkers…have you by any chance, seen a girl? Ball cap? Dress? Hoodie? She's small, skinny…poor thing…she could be all by herself by now…" Lee said, with tears appearing in his eyes.

"Sorry man…that sounds like tough shit…here." Wyatt said, passing Lee a joint.

"Nah, he don't take part." DD said.

Lee stared at the cigarette and sighed. "I must be out of my mind…" Lee said, grabbing the cigarette and placing it in his mouth. He breathed in with a round of applause from the group. Lee puffed out smoke and leaned his head back. "How long does this…take to, y'know…do its shit?" Lee said, already feeling slightly happier.

"Should be soon, man, I can't remember…damn I'm hungry…" Chay giggled.

"Right…well I'll be off to bed then." Eve sighed, as she stood up from the tree log she was sitting on.

Lee giggled slightly as he took in another puff of smoke. "Alright…I'm not feeling too good, I'll…be right back." Lee coughed, getting up from his seat next to Stevie.

He walked over to a large tree quite a ways from the camp as his stomach cramped, feeling like it was being pushed every which way. He leaned up against the tree as a combination of blood and vomit spilled out of his mouth onto the earth.

From Lee's mixed and blurred vision, he manged to make out that it was a dark black colour. "You alright, bro? A little too tough, huh?" Wyatt said, placing his hand on Lee's back.

"A little." Lee said, wiping his mouth

"First time?" Wyatt said.

"How'd you guess?" Lee joked.

"Just a hunch. Y'know it's not safe out there on your own, why don't you stick around with us for a bit?" Wyatt said with a warm smile.

"I'd like that…" Lee said, with a smile, after some hesitation, realising he may still be slightly loopy from the cigarette.

"Let's go back to camp, you should lie down." Wyatt said, directing Lee back to the camp.

 **(Thanks for reading, and once again, reviewing really help me to write, if you have a sec, let me know what you think! Thank you!)**


	4. The Journey

"You're looking rough." Wyatt said, standing up from the log he was sitting on, while using a knife to clean out his finger nails.

"Thanks." Lee scoffed. "So what's the plan? We can't stay here…"

"Damn right we can't, we're moving on today, we'll try and find a safer place to settle, it's just…my friends, they're...well they're hardly Bear Grylls…" Wyatt said, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm not saying I am, but…well they're wicked stoners…"

"Yeah…I noticed." Lee said.

Wyatt smiled and started to laugh, Lee cracked a smile and just about lost himself in a fit of laughter.

"What are you two laughin' at?" Stevie said, sounding grouchy and hung-over.

"Haha, don't mind Steven, Lee. If he's not drunk or high, he's always a grumpy shit." Wyatt said.

Stevie just flipped Wyatt off before going to un-hook his tent to pack it up.

"Can't you boys just play nice?" Eve sighed, slinging a rolled up sleeping back around her shoulder.

"Oh, here, let me help you with that." Lee said, holding his hand out.

"Thank you, haha, you're such a nice boy." Eve smiled, passing over her sleeping bag over to Lee.

Lee slung the bag round his shoulders and grabbed his rifle that was still leaning on the tree. "Big gun, compensating for something there, man?" DD chuckled, poking Lee's sides playfully.

"I don't really know how to reply to that…" Lee giggled, awkwardly.

"Oh, don't mind DD, she's fun, stoned or sober." Wyatt said, ruffling DD's hair.

DD looked as if she had run away from home, voluntarily. She looked edgy, with her ears pierced with jewelled skull earrings, a red and blacked checked shirt over a slightly ripped band t-shirt, and large black boots. She also had ripped up jean shorts over a pair of leggings. Her hair was ebony in colour with a few pink and purple strips strayed around her hair.

DD shoved Wyatt jokingly, pretending to fix her hair. Lee smiled, she seemed like the kind of person he'd take to avoid on the street, but she seemed sweet and playful, instantly reminding him of Clementine.

Lee's smiled slowly turned back into a frown. "What's up, dude?" DD asked, touching his arm caringly.

"Nothing…just…" Lee stopped and sighed, on the verge of tears. "I just don't know if I'll ever find her again..."

"Who?" DD asked, Lee assuming she was too stoned to remember last night.

"My girl, Clementine…" Lee said, brushing his hand through his un-cut hair.

"...Your daughter?" DD asked, almost as emotional as Lee.

"…I like to think so. I met her right at the start. We went to hell and back, until I was…uh…when I was shot, I told to leave me behind, I was too injured to carry on. I never betted on me surviving…now she's god knows where, I met these guys they said they saw her back this way, in a woods, I'm assuming this one, but I don't know…" Lee said, shakily, with tears almost streaming down his face.

"It's okay, you don't need to go on." DD said, with a smile, her eyes watering.

"…C'mon, guys, let's get going." Stevie said, cutting into the awkward moment.

"Yeah, we should probably get a move on." Stanley said.

"You guys ready?" Chay asked, slumping a backpack round his shoulder.

Lee nodded, holding his rifle by the barrel, leading the group through the trees.

After a good few hours of walking, talking, avoiding walkers and smoking, the group came to tire. "Ugh, I've got to sit down for a bit…" Chay said, rubbing his forehead.

"How does it feel that an old woman can walk longer than you?" Eve sighed, sitting down on a nearby rock. Chay slammed his backpack on the ground and sneered, sitting next to it. DD joined him, sitting cross-legged. Stevie crouched down, waiting for the group to get their energy back. Stanley sat next to Eve, on another rock. Lee stayed, looking out and around the woods, the sky turning orange, he knew night time was imminent, the group being vulnerable where they were, in the middle of a muddy path in a forest. "Aren't ya gonna sit down, Lee?" DD asked. Wyatt decided to hang around with Lee, keeping guard for the group.

"Okay…so, don't take this the wrong way, but how are you all still alive?" Lee said, moving his finger to the trigger of his rifle, and his other hand supporting the barrel.

"Well, I've just been wandering around, driving until I ran out of gas after that I found these guys. DD's a decent runner, good at climbing, Stevie's always been with Eve, obviously-

At that point Lee cut in. "A stoner and a senior citizen have lasted a year in all this?"

"Go fuck yourself, man." Stevie spat. "I'm okay with a gun, usually."

"Look, I don't recommend anybody using drugs, but why don't you go take some?" Lee growled.

"This escalated quickly…" Chay murmured.

"Lee, calm down, where'd this come from?" DD said, trying to stop the fight early on.

"Keep outta this!" Stevie said, getting back up, puffing his chest.

"Don't talk to her like that, she's not done anything." Lee said, pushing Stevie backwards.

"How would you know, you just met her, and automatically you're just in her fan club?!" Stevie yelled.

"Keep your goddamn voice down, both of you!" Eve whispered.

"Shut up, grandma." Stevie said.

"Don't tell me to shut up, young man!" Eve said, getting up from her seat.

"Lee, what's gotten in to you?" Wyatt said, holding Lee back, to no avail.

"Man, you're just all class, aren't you?" Lee shouted, clenching his fists, ready to get into an all-out brawl with Stevie.

"Argh!" Eve screamed from behind them. It was a walker. An old man, with a few springs of silver hair, barely visible in his head, wearing bloody and filthy suspenders, with a cleaver in his shoulder, was taking a chunk out of Eve's neck.

"Grandma!" Stevie sobbed running over to stop the walker.

"Run!" DD yelled, noticing a small herd of walkers, about ten, approaching.

The group fled in all different directions, apart from Stevie who was killing the walker with the clever that was clamped into its shoulder, before collapsing down onto his grandmother's corpse. "I'll get you for this, Lee! I swear I will!" He yelled as the distant shape of the group turned smaller and smaller…


	5. A New Group

"Lee! Over here, man!" Wyatt said, running over to Lee with his hand raised.

Lee kept running alongside Wyatt after he had caught up with him. "Shit…I don't know…what happened." Lee panted, nearly running out of breath.

"Neither do I, man. That shit got so bad so quickly. What the hell got over you, there?" Wyatt gasped.

Lee snapped his eyes back behind him, seeing nothing following him, and no walkers in sight, he decided to stop, pressing his back up against a tree. Wyatt joined him, sitting down on a mossy tree stump. "I…I have no goddamn idea…" Lee sighed. "…Look, Wyatt, I haven't been honest with you…"

"What do you mean…?" Wyatt said, nervously.

Lee sighed, and rolled up his sleeve, revealing his slightly faded bite. Wyatt jumped up and stood back, grabbing a handgun from the back of his pants. "What the fuck dude?" Wyatt yelled, pointing the gun, shakily. "You're infected?!"

"I'm not, I…I don't think so…just…put the gun down…" Lee said, with his arms raised next to his head.

"What the hell do you mean you don't think so? You're bitten!" Wyatt spat.

"Alright…I was bitten back in savannah…I was trying to find my girl, but…I was bitten before that, and…and I guess I just…I guess I outlived the virus because I was dead set on finding her that I basically put the virus second…I guess I got it out in the last minute…" Lee said.

"Got it out? How the fu-

"…Back at the camp…I was feeling all kinds of sick before then…then after I was sick because of the cigarette…"

"It was all black and…like…you're…you're like immune?" Wyatt said, his mind all over the place, slowly dropping the handgun to his side.

"I'm not immune, I'm just…or I don't think that…I just know that I'm not infected anymore. Look, Wyatt, I know about as much as you do, so let's just…keep walking and try to find the others, alright?" Lee said, lowering his hands.

"Alright…we better find a place to stay for the night." Wyatt said.

After a good four hours of walking, with no luck of finding DD, Stanley, or Chay Wyatt and Lee found themselves in a large, open field. They were about to give up hope until they see a beacon, a large orange glow next to a small structure, difficult to make out from where they were standing.

"Thank god…let's go!" Wyatt jumped giddily.

"Wyatt, hold up, they might not be friendly." Lee said, grabbing both of his handguns, placing them in each hand.

"…Dammit…I just…fuck…you're right…what do we do?" Wyatt said, stressing.

"Same as what I did…I doubt they're all happy stoners but hopefully they won't be complete ass holes." Lee said, putting emphasis the word 'complete'.

Wyatt and Lee slowly approached the camp and led to the front of the camp, where everybody immediately grabbed their weapons. "Don't move!" A man said, he was skinny and tall, wearing a t-shirt and jeans.

"Look, we don't want to hurt anybody, we'll drop our weapons if you want us too." Lee said.

"Yeah, drop 'em." A woman said, in a country accent. She had red hair that was tied back in a ponytail.

"Alright, alright." Lee said, laying his handguns down. "There, down."

Wyatt did the same, and raised his hands above his head. "Uh…I'm…uh…Wyatt…" He said awkwardly.

"That's dandy, now turn around and go." A young girl said, she had short brown hair and looked like she was in her early teens, about twelve or thirteen.

"Ssh, keep out of this…" Another woman said, to the girl's annoyance, who was accompanying the girl, they looked very similar, quite obviously related.

"I gotta agree with her, we can't trust anyone anymore…" A man with darker skin said, he appeared to be in his late teens.

"I don't know, I guess we'll do what we always do." The woman with ginger hair said. "We'll take a vote."

"I vote for them to stay…" The man wearing the t-shirt said. "C'mon, guys we were in their position before."

"Sorry…you've got to go." The young girl said.

"Double that." The darker skinned man said.

"…Hell, I must be outta my mind…" The ginger woman said. "I vote for them to stay."

"I guess I have the deciding vote." The older sister said.

"Before you make your decision…I'm…I'm looking for a girl, whether we stay or go, have you seen her? Hair, tied back in two bunches, hopefully, if she's doing what I said…most likely wearing a blue and white ball cap with a D on it." Lee asked, desperately.

The woman was obviously affected by this, she seemed heartbroken. "Sorry guys, I have to let them stay, I can't imagine what it would be like to lose a kid when I have one, he sounds like he's been through tons…" She said.

"You have no idea, lady…" Lee said with a slight snigger.

"God dammit…that's a big ass mistake, Shel." The darker skinned man said, slumping off back to the structure, which turned out to be an RV, slightly like Kenny's old one.

"Welcome to the group, I guess, go near me while I'm sleeping I'll poke your eye out…" The girl said, joining the man in the RV, slamming the door behind her. "Oh, don't mind Becca…she's been through a lot y'know?" The woman said.

"No, I understand. I'm Lee." He said, holding his hand out in front of the woman. The woman smiles and walks over to shake it. That is, before Wyatt cuts between Lee's hand.

"Hey, hey there, I'm Wyatt." Wyatt said awkwardly with a cheesy smile on his face.

Lee shook his head, disapprovingly. "…Well…your friend is…uh…friendly." The ginger woman giggled. "I'm Bonnie." She extended her arm in front of Lee.

"Lee." He smiled, and shook her hand.

"And, this is Vince." She said, gesturing to the man joining her and Lee.

"Hey." He smiled, shaking Lee's hand. "Welcome to the group…but…okay, I don't want to come off as an asshole, but…Becca and Russel are right. I'm letting you in to this group, but if you try anything, I'll cut you in half…are we clear?" He said.

"Perfectly." Lee said.

"Good, now c'mon, let's talk." Vince said, directing Lee and Wyatt, who was desperately trying to impress Shel, to the campfire.

 **(Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading, I'm sorry if this chapter seemed a little rushed, I've been a little busy, but I wanted to get a new chapter out for you guys, no worries, I'll be back to my normal writing schedule by next chapter. Please leave a review and tell me what you think, and follow me if you're interested in being up to date with this story, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter!)**


	6. Where are you?

**Hey guys! PLEASE READ THIS MESSAGE. Now, it's nothing too serious, I just wanted to let people who don't know about a little rule with the updates, which is, if you do upload daily, like I have been doing so far, and plan to keep doing, and nobody has been uploading their stories, which gets their stories to the top of the list, then it doesn't update its position, in other words, it doesn't move, so it can be hard to see if you don't look to see if the chapter number has been updated. A fix for this is to just pay attention to see when it was last updated, or even better, if you have an account follow the story!**

 **Thank you for reading, and enjoy.**

Vince rested himself on a garden chair they had by a large fire, and invited Lee and Wyatt to join him. The two sat on chairs parallel to him and were joined by Bonnie and Shel who were sitting on two other chairs, making the group into a circle. "Alright. Let's talk." Vince said, placing his fingers in between each other, and laying his elbows on his knees.

Lee lay back rubbed his neck. "Alright, what do you want to know?" Lee asked courteously, wanting to make a good impression to the new group, as they seemed friendly, but not stupid, and Lee couldn't see any drugs in sight.

"Good, you're friendly. Alright, who are you? Who are you really? Where were you when this all started?" Vince investigated.

"I…well…I was…uh, Wyatt?" Lee stumbled.

"What? Oh! I was driving with my friend Eddie, then we hit a girl, it was one of them…haha…it's funny…" He scoffed, with a frown on his face. "…Last time that happened…well…he left me…I don't know why, it must have been an emergency…" Wyatt sniffled.

"It's okay, you don't need to say anymore." Shel said, kindly with a caring smile.

"Alright Lee, what about you?" Vince asked, with a small forced smile.

"Well…I was…uh…umm..." Lee stuttered.

"Something wrong?" Vince interrogated.

"No, just…tough to remember, but, I got it…I was in a car accident…then I got out, after I was...after I hit someone." Lee scrambled to find an excuse with a nervous smile.

"…I suggest you get your story straight…now." Vince said, squinting his eyes.

"Vince…" Bonnie interrupted.

"Where were you when this started?" Vince spat.

"I was…in the back of a cop car." Lee said, hesitantly

Vince looked down at his feet and groaned. "Jesus…" Vince sighed. "I guess we can put it all behind us." He said, to lee's surprise.

"Are ya sure?" Shel gasped.

Bonnie just stared for a second. "I guess…you haven't steered us wrong yet, Vinnie."

"What was it for? Rape? Murder?" Vince asked.

"No. I…I killed a guy in a fight, okay?" Lee admitted. "He was sleeping with my wife…"

"Yeah, I remember seeing that on the news…" Bonnie cut in. "Innocent enough I guess."

"Well, you've got an excuse with a witness. Good. We can…sort of trust you…I guess." Vince accepted with some delay.

"You can. I've got one job, and it isn't to kill everyone in their sleep. It's to find my girl." Lee said assertively.

"I understand..." Vince said.

"I wish I could help you, mister, I can't imagine what you must be going through right now." Shel consoled.

"Thank you. So, who's your girl? Your sister?" Lee asked.

"Yeah…she can be a handful sometimes but, y'know, she's family." Shel smiled.

"I understand. I couldn't say the same for Clem though, she was so quiet all the time…I sometimes wonder whether she's still the same…" Lee sighed.

"I promise, we'll do our best to help you find her." Bonnie uttered.

"Really?" Lee smiled.

"Of course." Bonnie said, proudly, crossing her arms.

Shel rubbed the back of her neck and groaned. "Alright, time to face the lions...better fill Becca and Russell in…" She said

"I'll come with ya…" Vince said, following her to the RV.

"You two look exhausted. You two will have to share a tent, nobody's sleeping in that one." Bonnie said, pointing at a blue and black tent, zipped open, with two sleeping bags inside.

"Thanks. I'm gonna hit the hay." Wyatt yawned, stretching his arms in the air. "You coming?" Wyatt stumbled and clambered into the tent, eventually collapsing onto one of the sleeping bags.

"I'll just sit out here for a while…I need some time to think." Lee said, with a short and quick smile.

"…O…kay, see you in a minute then." Wyatt said, zipping the tent shut.

Bonnie smiled and sat in a chair next to Lee. "It'll all be okay, you know?" She said, leaning her head back to look at the stars. "You'll find your girl, and find a safe place. We all will. I'm certain." She giggled.

Lee leaned back the same, looking at the formation of clear stars above them. "Fuck…I'd believe anything, with what's been happening lately." He mumbled.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Nothing, just been a crazy however-long-it's-been." He said.

"I get it…god, I'm tired. I'm gonna get some sleep. Don't stay up to long, you'll drive yourself crazy." She smiled and giggled slightly, as she trudged back to her tent.

Lee groaned as he cracked his knuckles and moved down to the ground, laying on his back in the dry grass, there was a slow and gentle breeze on his skin. He rubbed his eyes and then brushed his hands through his surprisingly long and unsurprisingly greasy hair. He scoffed at the hair that was now reaching to his ears. He smacked his head back onto the ground and looked up at the black night sky, with the glowing stars, like tiny flashlights in a dark hallway. "Where are you, Clem?" Lee whispered to himself…


	7. Infection

**Hey guys! I hope you're enjoying the story. I got a request from someone to make the chapters longer, so if I can, I'm going to push up the words from 1000 or so a chapter to 1500 or around there. Thanks for the tip.**

 **Enjoy!**

"Morning." Becca grinned.

Lee jumped up from his back with a gasp. He groaned and rubbed his head. "Ugh…Dammit, kid…"

"What were you doing sleeping on the ground, adult?" She said. Lee inspected his surroundings, he had fell asleep on the ground outside. Becca was sat on one of the garden chairs, sitting smug by his legs. Lee got himself back on his feet and brushed himself off of dirt, grass and a few bugs.

"You just answered your own question. I was sleeping." Lee growled.

Becca smirked and jumped up from the garden chair. "Aww, did someone wake up on the wrong side of the floor this morning?" Becca ridiculed.

"No, I woke up to an annoying teen sitting over me. What's your excuse?" Lee growled, itching his arm.

Becca was obviously struck by this, as she hesitated before responding. "Just…get fucked." Becca grunted, before retreating back to the RV.

Lee sighed, immediately realising what he had said. He wasn't much of a morning person, but he had never yelled at a kid before, it wasn't something he'd do. He groaned and trudged over to the RV, knocking on the door before entering. On the inside it looked cleaner and nicer than Kenny's old RV, to Lee's surprise, this being the first time he had seen the interior. The whole group, apart from Wyatt was sitting on the inside, Russell on a bench, Vince and Bonnie talking to each other in the front seats and Becca and Shel sitting in a booth talking.

Lee walked over to the booth and was immediately confronted. "What do you want now?" Becca growled.

"Look…I'm sorry, Becca, I don't know what came over me." Lee said, sadly.

"Hey, c'mon, Becca. He apologised, and he's going through a lot of emotions right now." Shel said, excusing Lee, even though it was obvious Becca had told her what had happened.

"We all are." Becca said, grouchily.

"Yeah…but…look, we're both in a group now, just…try and get a long, both of you?" Shel said.

"Fine by me." Lee smiled, itching his arm again.

Becca looked at Lee and grimaced. "No promises."

"That's the best you're gonna get." Shel giggled. "Hey, is your arm alright?"

Lee looked down, the arm he had been itching since he woke up hadn't stopped, he realised it was the arm he was bitten on, and it was itching right where the bite was. "Oh, it's fine, really. I'll just take a look at it. I was probably just bitten." Lee smiled. "By mosquitos! By…by mosquitos." He laughed, nervously.

Lee sighed and smacked his forehead with his palm as soon as he escaped the thick cloud of awkwardness in the RV. "Ugh…what is wrong with you?" He mumbled to himself. He realised it was so unlike him to be awkward, nervous or quick to anger. But he was experiencing all of these. Along with the itch that just wouldn't rest. He smacked his head on the back of the RV and moved up his sleeve. Lee sneered at the sight of it. It was gloopy and sticky, with blood and puss coming from various cuts around and inside the bite. It was for sure infected, he knew that with absolute certainty.

"How's it feeling?" Wyatt asked.

Lee jumped and clasped his chest. "Jesus, Wyatt!" He whispered.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." He said, with his hands by his head. "Jeez…"

"Sorry…I don't know what's making me like this, Wyatt…I'll be honest with you…and…I'm kind of scared…" Lee said, shakily.

"I'll tell you what, I'll ask them for some bandages, we'll get you patched up, they'll never even know. It'll be fine." Wyatt said. "Just…try not to have a heart attack while I'm gone."

Wyatt walked off with a slight laugh as he walked through to the RV. Lee remained outside, and waited patiently, trying desperately to look away from his arm, but he couldn't help it, the minutes Wyatt was gone felt like hours, and he spent all that time, trying to wipe away the thick puss and runny blood away.

"Alright, I'm back. They think your gunshot wound is acting up, I said it was common for it to happen." Wyatt said, passing Lee a bottle of disinfectant and a small rapping of bandages.

"You're a lifesaver." He smiled, as he rolled off the top of the disinfectant and gently poured it on the bite. He winced and gritted his teeth as the disinfectant fizzed into the bite. He passed the bottle to Wyatt who rolled the lid back on. Lee then quickly wrapped the bandages around the bite. He instantly felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He wasn't filled with the same awkward or angry feelings anymore. He didn't know what it was, whether it was related to the bite or just some strange mood swing, he didn't want to know either.

"Everything okay out here?" Bonnie asked. She looked at the bandages. "Your arm? How'd you get shot in the arm?" Bonnie said, with squinted eyes and confused look on her face.

"It was while I was trying to stop a bullet for my girl, she manage to duck, thank god, but I jumped and…I guess my arm got there first." Lee said, in his mind, congratulating himself on using a good excuse again, rather than the stumbling and nervousness he had almost grown accustomed too.

"Man…you'd do anything for her, wouldn't you?" Bonnie said, with a frown on her face.

"You have no idea." Lee sighed. Lee stopped and looked up again. "So, anyway, what should we do? Any jobs you need me to do?"

"Oh, we're fine. Besides, that arm looks like it hurts, you need to rest it." She said with a smile.

Wyatt smiled between the two and poked Lee's shoulder. "…Right…well…I'll leave you too it…" Wyatt giggled before skipping into the RV.

"I like him, we've been out her for about a few days, and we're good friends already…but …but…Jesus sometimes his stoner side shows." Lee laughed.

"Oh…" Bonnie murmured uncomfortably. "He was a junkie?"

"Yeah, had a whole group of em'. But we were split up by a few walkers not long after. For the best, I think." Lee said.

"Yeah…it's just…" Bonnie sighed.

"What's up?"

"I used to be…y'know, into some bad stuff. It's not much of a secret. I just get a little bit uncomfortable around drugs and…stuff."

"Well he seems okay. Last time I saw him with a joint was when I met him…so he's been away for about a few days, so I think he'll be fine…"

"That's good. At least it's just weed and not what I was on." Bonnie smiled and began walking with Lee over to the now extinguished campfire. "We better get this lit up before sundown."

Lee nodded once silently and helped Bonnie move a few logs onto the fire pit. "Alright, that should do it." Bonnie smiled. "We'll light it up after dark, don't want to waste the lumber."

"Good idea. Anything else we need to do?" Lee asked.

"I was thinking of moving a few things around, moving some tables about, I don't know, make things a little more accessible." Bonnie said.

"Interesting choice of agenda…" Lee chuckled.

"Oh yeah? Got a better use of our time?" Bonnie asked with a smirk on her face, placing one fist on her hip.

"Fine…god, you're just like mother. She was always rearranging things all over my house whenever she came over. Every time I went into my parent's store the office always look different." Lee said with an empty smile, moving the garden chairs out the way of the campfire, and stacking them near the RV.

"Oh yeah? Sounds like a great woman to me. What happened to 'em? If you don't mind me askin'." Bonnie asked.

"No, it's alright. We're friends now, right?" Lee said.

"Of course." Bonnie smiled, taking a folded up table from the back of the RV.

"I never really talked to them much. Found myself back at the drug store they owned at the start of all this, about a day into it. They didn't make it." Lee sighed.

"That must have been awful." Bonnie said, sadly, unfolding the table and pushing it up against a side of the RV.

"It was…well it was all kinds of strange, anyway. I was watching over a girl, I was just kicked off of a farm, and I was trying to break into a pharmacy to get nitro-something pills for a guy who hated me…That was the least strange thing from the start of the whole zombie thing." Lee laughed.

"Wow…" Bonnie laughed, simultaneously with Lee.

"But…now I think back at it, all I can see is the place where Clem cut her finger while trying to help me move a dresser from the pharmacy door." Lee smiled, thinking about how brave Clementine was, considering the blood streaming from her finger.

"You need to stop stressin', Lee. We'll find her." Bonnie said. "Here, help me with this table real quick."

Lee helped Bonnie move another table, diagonally from the table that had just been laid out, as it made a terrible scraping noise across the rocks and dirt. "I know. I'm counting on it."

 **So, I realise this might seem boring to a lot of you right now, but trust me, the best has yet to come…**


	8. Memory Lane

"…and you're sure this is a good idea?" Wyatt asked nervously.

"Of course it's a good idea. C'mon, we need somebody to find us." Bonnie said, clutching all the photos in her hand.

Lee walked over to the group, who was standing in a circle. He pushed in between Vince and Wyatt into the circle. "What's a good idea?" Lee asked.

"We're putting photos of us on the notice board near the gas station." Bonnie said.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" Lee asked.

"We can't stay here forever, guys. We need someone to find us." Bonnie said. "Military hopefully."

"Huh…won't that attract…like…unwanted attention?" Lee said.

"Maybe, but we can defend ourselves against the bad guys." Vince said confidently.

"You guys just have old photos of yourselves?" Lee said with squinted eyes.

"Yeah. Don't you? We all need memories to keep ourselves alive." Shel said.

"I'll need a photograph though, right?" Lee asked.

"Yeah…don't you have a home near here?" Bonnie said.

"Nope, home got repossessed after I was arrested." Lee said.

"Oh, he's been a criminal this whole time. What a surprise…" Russell sighed.

"Although…" Lee said, placing his fingers around his chin. Lee remembered back at the drug store, where he was almost caught by Carley, before he realised she already knew. He ripped himself out of the photo. They also had the RV. It would be about a day or two's drive down there. "You have any gas in the RV?"

"Yeah, yeah, we just never really use it. It's more of a wall than a truck now." Shel said.

"Think it'll go to Macon and back?" Lee asked.

"Huh…should do if we get more gas on the way…know a place that may have some spare gasoline?" Vince said.

"I might do." Lee said.

After a few rearrangements in the furniture around the camp, the RV was good to go, the seven piled in to the old dusty van and followed the country roads around Savannah, through the woods. It had been hours of card games, ammo counting and talking about how they got to where they were. "I had to lie to him. I couldn't just tell him I beat his wife's brains out by accident…could I?" Bonnie said, wiping her eyes of tears.

"I don't think it would've gone down too good if you did." Lee said.

"Guys, you mind if we take a break?" Vince yawned to the back of the RV where everyone was sitting.

"Yeah, we don't want you falling asleep at the wheel." Shel said.

"Sweet." Vince said, pulling over to the side of the country road.

The whole group clambered out of the RV, their legs half asleep. Lee leaned against the side of it and cracked his fingers, twisting his neck around, every movement making snapping noises. "Man…serious déjà vu here." Lee chuckled.

"Why's that?" Wyatt asked.

"Man that is a long story…" Lee laughed. He looked around through the grass, not really knowing what he was expecting to find. But he stopped when he noticed a body, rotted and decomposed. He walked over to it, checking for bullet or stab wounds in the head, making sure it wasn't going to get up. That was until he noticed the pink jacket and bullet through the head the body had. Lee gasped and paused for a good thirty seconds before breaking down, falling onto his knees.

"Lee…buddy?" Wyatt said, crouching down next to him.

"Car…" He said, gently touching her shoulder.

"Oh…you knew her?" Wyatt asked awkwardly.

Lee nodded silently, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth. He jumped back up and punched the RV's side. "Argh! Goddammit!" He yelled.

"Hey, keep your fucking voice down!" Russell whispered.

"I should have left her…" Lee sighed. He pressed his forehead up against the RV.

"What happened now?" Vince asked, emerging from the woods.

"Where have you been?" Bonnie asked.

"I've been driving for hours, where do you think?" He mumbled. "So what's up with Lee?"

"Looks like it's been on a trip through memory lane." Wyatt said, guiding Lee back into the RV.

"Let's just get moving…" He murmured.

"Yeah, c'mon." Bonnie said, holding the door of the RV open for everyone.

The group sat in the booth by the door, apart from Bonnie who was driving, and Vince who was sitting next to her. The group in the booth sat silently, as Lee stared at up at the ceiling with a sigh. "Lee, you okay bud-

"Not now…" Lee said, cutting Wyatt off.

"Think we should stop for the night?" Bonnie asked.

"We're already in Macon, it'll be an in and out job, c'mon. We'll be out of here by nightfall." Vince said, pulling into the small town. Lee groaned and moved up to the top of the RV. "Let us know where to stop."

Lee waited a second until he saw the large red letters of his parent's store. He spotted them and sighed. "Just here."

"Here?" Vince said, uncomfortably, his hands beginning to shake.

"You alright, Vinnie?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah…yeah fine, but we better do this quick." He said, taking out the keys to the RV and clutching them in his shuddering fist.

Lee quickly snuck out of the RV door, being followed by Bonnie, Wyatt, Russell and Vince. They tip-toed over to the door, and gently pushed the squeaking gate open. "Sssh…" Bonnie said, attempting to push the doors open, but to no avail. "Shit…how do we get in?" She growled.

"Follow me…" Lee said, sneaking through into the alley next to the store.

Vince grew more and more edgy by this and pushed himself through into the front of the line the four were in. "What's up with you, Vince?" Russell interrogated.

"Nothing, c'mon, through this door?" Vince asked.

"Yeah, this is the one." Lee gently pushed it open. It creaked wider, stopping about halfway before being stiff from rust. Lee and the rest fit in through the gap, clutching the handgun he was holding. He was instantly filled with dread and sad memories. "Fuck…" He whispered to himself. He looked around the bloody floor for the torn up photo of himself. But to no avail, there was the half of his brother and his parents, but no him. It was taken, he remembered where he dropped it, the dead centre of the room, there wouldn't have been a breeze or walkers to push it along the floor, it had just simply disappeared.

"C'mon man, where is it?" Russell said, nervously.

"No fuckin' idea…it was right here." Lee whispered, kicking the dusty tiles.

"Dammit…shit…Is there another photo? C'mon, we better get moving." Vince said, in a rush.

"There has to be…somewhere." Lee said, running over to the draws, touching around the dusty wood, he remembered it was the one him and Clem had pushed out the way of the pharmacy door. He ripped a few of the draws open, nothing.

"Let's get going, we can't stay here for too long. As long as you stick with us, you won't need a photo." Bonnie said, running out of the exit, then immediately running back in. "Shit…" She sighed, pressing the door shut behind her.

"What now?" Russell groaned.

"The Alley's been blocked off by walkers. Think we can get through the main door?" She asked.

"There might be a few walkers in there, are you ready to fight?" He asked.

Bonnie nodded, and so did the others. Lee took a few breaths and prepped to open the door. On the silent count of three he swung the door open and rushed through, the three following behind him. There were at least four or five walkers, scattered around the place. One, catching Lee's eye, the one closest to him, trudging and limping over to him with growls of hunger. "Sorry buddy." He said, holding a gun up to the zombie's head. "Rest in peace, Doug." He said, pulling the trigger.

The others looked at him, confused, but the majority of their minds taken up by the situation, they ran behind Lee, who was fiddling with an object stuck between the handles of the door. He smiled and held up an old cane, before flinging the doors open. The others sprinted out of their with haste, followed by Lee who was still holding the cane, the four jumped back into the RV, the door being held open by Shel. "Let's get moving!" Lee yelled, holding up the folded up photo of him and his brother.

Wyatt slammed his foot down on the gas pedal and sped out of Macon as fast as he could.


	9. My word

"January 2013. Or around there…twenty-first entry of my new life. My group, Wyatt, Shel, Becca, Vince and Bonnie have been out here for a few months together now. Doesn't seem like anybody's found the photos yet. It's starting to get tough finding food, if we're going to get help, now would be a good time." Lee said, clicking the recording device. It had helped him deal with everything that had happened, since he found his old audio diaries in the motor inn, the device was the best friend he had in the cold and unforgiving apocalypse around him.

Lee sighed and left the RV he was alone in, and joined the group outside during the cold sundown. It had been a journey with the six, and still no clue or sign of Clem. At least none he could see. Lee sat down next to Russell, who he believed he had made good process with, even though he could tell Russell didn't quite find him trustworthy.

"Who the fuck are you?" Vince yelled, pointing his handgun at a slightly overweight woman, with dark skin, and large hair. The strangest part was she was holding a walkie-talkie and had a car, quite a ways behind her. She had clearly come from an organised group who had it together.

"How did you find us?" Wyatt asked, nervously.

"I found your notes…" She said, pulling out the pictures of the group from her pocket.

"Oh yeah? And what's it to you?" Lee growled, pointing his rifle, which he had swiftly swooped up, at the woman's head, right between her eyes, prepped for her to make a move.

"I'm a scout for a growing settlement up north. We go out and look for survivors to rescue them." The woman explained, placing her hand on her hip. "We have food, clean water, and shelter, for everyone. We're offering you a chance to help us out and start over."

"God…this sounds too good to be true. But…I think it is." Bonnie said.

"Bonnie, get real! Just because she says its true doesn't mean it is." Becca spat, coldly, turning to Bonnie then back to the woman. "You should know about that…"

Bonnie's face grew angry as she looked over to Becca, who was standing next to her. "Hey! What I told you about Leland-

"Cool it." Vince said, calmly. "I heard rumours about these places. This guy I was…'travelling' with ditched me to find one on his own. He thought…Y'know what? Let's do this. She looks well fed right? And clean? We could all use a meal and a hot shower." Vince sheathed his handgun back into the back of his pants.

"Wait, you find survivors? Do you find a lot?" Wyatt asked, hopefully.

"Not as many anymore. But…" The woman said.

"Well we gotta go. Eddie might be there! And Lee, your little girl!" Wyatt said, turning to Lee, along with the rest of the group, waiting for what he was going to say, but Lee stayed silent to ponder it.

"Wyatt…" Bonnie sighed.

Lee slowly lowered his rifle. "Maybe, we do have a few kids there." The woman explained. "And if not, if she's alive. We'll find her, I can promise you that, sir. Anyway, we need people, plain and simple. And you folk can decide whether you want to come as a group, or split up, or whatever. But I don't want to be out in the open after dark. So in a few minutes I'm gonna be getting back in my car and on my way. Hopefully at least some of you will follow."

"Well I'm goin'." Bonnie said, without missing a beat.

"Maybe we should go too, sis. If roman is still looking for us, he wouldn't be able to do anything there." Becca said.

"There's no way that guy has been looking for you. We've been to that truck stop, there's no one left." Wyatt said.

"Roman's not a problem. It's following her that'll get you killed." Russell cut in.

"Look, I know it's a risk, but what else is there? If you guys are going, then so are we." Shel said.

"I don't like this guys, maybe we should just walk away. I don't trust her." Russell said.

"Of course you don't, Russell. You don't trust anyone." Bonnie said.

"He's got a point, Bonnie." Lee said.

"What will it take to convince you?" The woman asked.

"I don't know." Russell said.

"Russell come on…" Bonnie said.

"I don't understand what the problem is, are you really considering staying out here? Foraging for food like fucking racoons?!" Wyatt said. "I mean, then why did we even leave the photos there?"

"Well it could be a trap. What if they want to kill us?" Becca said.

"Thank you! Everyone out there is bat shit crazy!" Russell growled.

"What about us? We're not crazy…not yet anyway." Lee said.

"You clearly outnumber me. If you wanted to overpower me, you could. Hell, I'll even go along as your hostage until you feel safe. No one is gonna hurt you." She said.

"That's not a bad idea, actually." Vince said.

"And I'll do it, because I know when you guys see this place, you'll change your minds." She said. "Look, I know you guys are wary, and you have every right to be. You don't know me from a hole in the ground. And yeah, there are some crazy fuckers out there. All I am here to do is make an offer. You can come with me, or you can stay here. The choice is yours. So, who wants to come with me?"

Bonnie raised her hand.

"Yeah, I'm going." Vince said.

"Alright…I'm going." Lee sighed, dropping the rifle to his side.

"Yeah…I have to." Wyatt said, raising his hand.

Shel silently put her hand up, with Becca reluctantly following.

"I'm…I'm just not sure. We've been out her for so long and seen too much bullshit. Is it really worth getting our hopes up?" Russell sighed

"Of course it is, Russell. Hope is all we've got left." Bonnie said.

"But being smart, that's what's keeping us alive." Russell said.

"Russell, I know we're not the best of friends just yet, but if this is the only time you'll trust me then I'm glad this would be it…come with us, for me, for the group, and for my girl. I'll need friends when I find her, she'll need more than one person to look after her…" Lee said, desperately trying to convince him.

"We have people of all ages in our colony. Teenagers. Whole families. It's a chance to reconnect with people the way you used to." The woman said.

"We understand. I think we've all made up our minds." Vince said. "Russell?"

Russell sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Fuck it…I'm with you."

"Well, I guess we have our group." The woman said, marching over to Vince, holding up the pictures. "What do you want to do with these?"

Wyatt pondered it for a second, taking the photos off of the woman, the rest of the group crowded around him, as he walked over to the fire. He stared down at them, then at the rest of the group, before dropping them into the fire.

"This is a good thing. I know it is." Bonnie said, positively.

"How do we know?" Vince sighed.

"I give you my word." The woman said…

 **So this is a thing :P Two chapters in one night. I was just really excited to get this out, because from here is where it gets real…**


	10. Getting Settled

**Hey guys! Hope you're enjoying it so far…and I hope you appreciate the heartbreak I'm going through…I had to replay season 2 for this… XD Enjoy!**

The settlement wasn't what Lee was expecting, but it was a settlement nonetheless. A large department store turned into a fortress. There were tons of guards patrolling the roofs, the fences were shoddy looking in some parts of the barriers. But the walls looked like a castle compared to most places in the country then. The group clambered out of the RV that was following the woman's car. The group had learnt her name was Tavia by then. Tavia stepped out of her car and gathered the group behind her. The group followed her into the store, after the armed guards had opened the sealed gates for her and the group.

The group was brought into a large hallway, with small doorways into many different labelled rooms. "Tavia, you're back." A tall man said, as he approached the group. He had rough brown hair and was obviously stressed, with large bags under his eyes. He seemed washed and fed, but not shaven, with a thick moustache and a stubble goatee. He was clearly battle hardened with a red scar on his cheek and a slightly crooked nose. "Fantastic job. Welcome to Howe's Hardware. As shit as that sounds, we're still looking for a better name." The man laughed then stopped. "Oh, sorry, I didn't realise you had a kid with you."

"I think she'll have a better chance of offending you, mister." Shel giggled.

"Ah, not afraid to talk, I like that. My name is William Carver. But you can call me Bill." He said, holding his hand out.

Vince smiled and shook his hand. "Vince." He said.

Lee stepped up next. "I'm Lee." He said shaking Bill's hand.

The group was began to walk behind William and Tavia, after the group had been introduced. "So, what brought you here? Besides the obvious wanting to start over. Any particular reason?" He asked with a smile.

"I'm looking for someone." Wyatt said, stepping to the front of the group. "You got an Eddie here?"

"Hmm, can't say it rings a bell." Carver said to Wyatt's disappointment.

"What about Clementine?" Lee asked, not expecting to hear anything.

"Afraid not…" He said. "But…If your friends are still alive we'll find them. I can tell you that."

Lee and Wyatt smiled. Lee knew this was the first step. Finding a group that could afford to go out to search for her, without having to worry about supplies, ammo and medicine. The group was directed down through the hall, taking a turn into a narrower hallway, with fresh-looking wooden fences in-between gaps in the walls. Looking through, Lee realised these were bedrooms, hardly hotel material, but they had beds, pillows, blankets, sinks, a luxury compared to what they used to have. "These are the bedrooms, a little compact, I know. But they weren't always bedrooms, after all, and if you can see down there, those are the shower rooms, boys on the left girls on the right." Tavia explained.

"Best bedroom I've seen in a long while." Wyatt said.

"Yeah, last time I slept in an actual bed was back at a motor inn I was held up in a while back." Lee smiled.

"Oh yeah? Sounds like a decent place to stay. Hardly a fortress though, huh?" Bill chuckled. "Don't know I could go back after getting used to sleep in a bed."

"Oh I hardly got any sleep in them. This wasn't exactly a five star place, also Clem was always having nightmares." Lee said.

"Aw, poor baby." Shel said.

"Hell, it was hard not too…even I had a few nightmares." Lee said with a slight laugh.

The group walked further down the hall until they reached halfway. "Will this be okay? Boys in this one, girls in that, or however you'd prefer." Tavia asked, as if she was a hotel receptionist, gesturing to two rooms either side of the hall.

"I could sleep in a barn if it means I didn't have to spend another night in that tent." Vince said, walking through the open gate. "This is amazing."

"Sleeping in a barn is a lot harder than you'd think…apparently you could wake up with spiders in your hair." Lee laughed.

"Glad you like it." Bill said. "Well we'll let you get settled. We'll call you all down when the foods ready, meanwhile if you go down to the laundry room we've got a bunch of spare clothes." He said nonchalantly, before walking back down the hall.

Lee looked over to Russell and Vince with a wide smile on his face before breaking into uncontrolled fits of laughter. The rest couldn't help but join him. Bonnie started giggling and joining in with the boys just across the hall. "Told you so!" She said, leaning on the gate to her room.

"Alright, alright…" Russell laughed. "Now, we gonna talk about how wrong I was or are we going to have a decent shower?"

Vince and Wyatt giddily joined Russell down to the shower room. Wyatt staying behind for half a second. "You coming?" He asked, obviously not wanting to stay uncleaned for another second.

"I'm just going to record a little, you guys go ahead. I'll join you in a bit." Lee said.

"Gotcha." Wyatt said quickly before rushing down the hall, then moving to the left.

Lee sighed and scoffed, before reaching into his pocket to pick out his recording device. He sat down on his bunkbed, he had claimed the bottom bunk as his own. He clicked the device. "Well, someone found our notes. We've been brought to a safe place, used to be called Howe's Hardware before everything. I hate to get over-excited, but this is my first step to finding Clem, and I can't go on with doubt and cynicism in my mind. That's not what's pulling me to find her. It's the chance that I will find her." Lee sighed and clicked the device and placed it on his bed before standing up to shower.

After the rather awkward showering session, Lee had nevertheless felt cleaner than he had in a long time, washing his face in a freezing lake was one thing, having a hot shower was another. Lee slipped on his old clothes, and jacket and walked the group down to the laundry room. There was a man there, he was young and had clean cut brown hair and a freshly shaven face. He was wearing a long sleeved orange t-shirt and faded blue jeans. They looked clean, so he was obviously doing his job right. "Hey, you the new guys everyone's talking about?" He asked, moving from the position he was in, with his feet on the desk and hands behind his head, to a more upright position. "I'm Luke." He said.

"I'm Lee." He said. "We were wandering if you could sort us out with some clothes."

"No problem, here…try…uh…" Luke took a break from his sentence to turn around and collect a few items of clothing. "These…changing rooms are over there." Luke pointed over to what looked like a large closet with the doors knocked off and instead old and ripped curtains were hung in their place.

Lee smiled and took them, walking back in to their changing rooms. After putting the change of clothes on, he emerged with a smile. "Damn…" Bonnie laughed.

"Looking good." Vince said.

"I like it." Shel giggled.

"Hell…I'd do him." Wyatt said, as the whole group turned to him with tilted heads.

"Right…do you have a mirror around or something, Luke?" Lee asked, handing his old clothes to Luke's extended arms.

"Sure." Luke said, bringing out a body-sized mirror out from next to him, after placing Lee's old clothes on the washing pile.

Lee looked himself up and down in the mirror, he looked good, amazing even. He was wearing a pair of old black jeans, and a buttoned up navy blue shirt over a smaller black t-shirt, a designer tag in the centre on it that Lee didn't bother reading. "Huh…nice job, Luke." He said.

"Thanks. Tell you what, this is the most boring job I've been put on. Has to be done I guess…" He sighed. "Anyway, better get you guys suited up, dinner time's soon. God I am starved."

"Great, I'm going back down to our room, I'll meet you guys back there." Lee said, walking up back to the hallway with the rooms. Once he got there he collapsed onto his bed and sighed, looking up to the bunk above him. He sighed and smiled. This was paradise.


	11. Recordings

"Been a few weeks since we've arrived at Howe's. I've got to say, I'm impressed by this. I've made a few friends, Luke, Nick, his uncle Pete, who Wyatt loves to repeat is a 'white' version of me, Dr. Carlos, his daughter Sarah, and Rebecca and Alvin. They seem nice enough, I'm just finding it hard to make friends nowadays. Don't know if that's a good or bad thing."

Becca sighed and clicked the device, the tape made a quick buzzing sound and stopped at the next message.

"C'mon, I know there's something funny in here…" Becca giggled, pressing play.

"Things are getting a little more stressful here as the months go on. Bill's getting more on edge, Bonnie keeps sneaking off somewhere every day, Russel isn't talking to anyone, Wyatt's suffering, saying he always needs something to smoke, I'm surprised Shel's still standing, Becca's hardly made it easy on her-

"Dick…" Becca said, fast-forwarding the tape.

"I just told Carver about Luke, Nick, Pete, Alvin, Rebecca and Carlos, about how they left during the middle of the night. Carver's already been drinking a lot lately, now that he knows people are starting to abandon him, he almost flipped a table and shoved a knife down my throat…"

Becca grew sad at this, expecting to find something humorous, instead finding wave upon wave of problems and depressions.

"I know where Bonnie's been sneaking off to, her and Wyatt are hiding in a corner where nobody can find them, smoking…something, I don't know, I told Bill and he said he'd talk to them."

"Wyatt's been having nightmares again, always talking in his sleep about how he needs weed. I keep trying to calm him down, but I don't blame him…Bill's not the supportive guy I met at the start of this year."

"It's Clementine's birthday…saddest thing is, I don't know how old she is anymore…eleven…I think…maybe…"

"We're still searching for Luke and his friends. I feel like I'm among a dictator and his followers when I'm around carver. It's not like it used to be. Now it's feeling less like St. Regis, and more like Alcatraz. I'm almost considering-

Lee growled and snatched the recorder out of Becca's hand. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Lee yelled, slamming his backpack down on the bench Becca was sitting at.

"I was just trying to have a little fun, asshole." Becca spat. "Where are you going?"

Lee zipped the recording device in the front pocket of his backpack before swinging it back over his shoulder. "Looking for Clementine." He said coldly, walking over to the munitions room. Becca following him closely.

"They're not letting you out, the walls are still being repaired from the break out. And you're not getting out through the broken walls, that place is crawling with zombies. Didn't you hear about Reggie?" Becca said, as Lee grabbed his rifle from his gun cabinet.

"Carver's given me permission, because unlike you, I can leave without a chaperone." Lee groaned.

"Well fuck you too, Lee. Why don't you do us all a favour and go find your girl, then don't come back." Becca grunted.

"Just…" Lee sighed and grunted before continuing. "…give this to your sister." Lee approached the gates as he passed Becca a sealed envelope. "Don't open it…"

"Why…?" Becca said, dazed and confused.

"This is the first time I'm going out on my own, Bill can't spare the men, now if I don't make it back by sundown, give it to your sister." Lee sighed.

Becca sighed and dropped her arms to her side. "Alright…sorry." She said.

Lee smiled and then turned back over to the gate, Troy and another asshole Lee didn't care to remember were out guarding it. Lee nodded at Becca once and walked down to the gate. "Where you off to?" Troy interrogated.

"Looking for Clem, open the gate." Lee said, assertively.

"We're on high alert and Carver's is out looking for Luke and his band of merry queers." Troy's bigot friend snorted.

"You are. I'm not, I have permission to leave." Lee said, passing Troy a note with Carver's signature.

"Fine…Open the gates, Lee's going out in search of his young lover…"

Lee rolled his eyes at the petty joke, and took out the car keys from his pocket, approaching the small box of a car in the almost empty car park. He clicked the car open and threw his bag into the front seat and inserted the keys into the ignition. He exhaled and sat back. "I'm sure…" He said out loud to himself. He quickly sped out of the car park, knowing they'll find his room any second, the endless notes of paper practicing to imitate Bill's signature under the bunk, or that Becca will undoubtedly open the note reading how he has left to find Clementine and for them to leave too.

Lee began driving straight out of Howe's and back into a long and straight country road. He decided to start from the beginning. The greatest clue he found, just to make sure, he picked up the voice recorder, clicking it to play. "The first clue that I've found, possibly the best, and the worst. I found a body in the bathroom while helping Tavia search for some survivors at the diner. Omid's body. He had been put down but we had to fight a girl to get to him, I don't know whether she was related to his death or not, but it was Omid for sure."

Omid was dead, but if he was with Clem and Christa, they had not been slaughtered yet. Lee pressed the button to skip the next few recordings and pressed play again. "Luke and his friends told me they were planning to leave…they said they wanted to bring me with them, and gave me time to think about it… I don't know what to say to them. Things are dropping here, it's getting too much, clearly, but my friends don't think so. I need to get out of here, but I can't leave them. So I've decided, I don't know anything about it. But I'm saying this loud and clear, in case I change my mind. They've gone south."

Lee clicked stop on the recorder and placed it next to him in the car, before spinning round down onto the south roads.

 **Alright, I'm thinking this may seem a little bit rushed. But to justify this thought, I was thinking that taking about 6 more chapters to prolong and stretch that out would be boring and idiotic. If you think differently let me know, and if you think the same, help me feel like I'm not a…awful writer, just a bad one xD**


	12. Finally Reunited

"I've been walking for a few days now." Lee said into the recording device. "The car ran out of gas and I had to ditch it. I'm in a forest somewhere, god knows. Man I hate god…" Lee sighed, before clicking the audio device off.

Lee clambered through the trees before noticing an opening, the end to the forest, or at least a gap in it, so he decided it would be a good place to lay low for a while, no doubt Carver would be aware of Lee's absence by then. Once he reached the end he noticed someone. At the door of a house, knocking every few seconds. Lee dropped down, noticing the familiar brown coat and furry collar. He stuck down between the grass, moss and dirt, hiding just behind a tree, almost out of sight. "What's your name?" Carver asked. Lee was sure it was him, he awaited the answer, curious to know who he was talking to, but before he could listen in, he heard the growling of a walker behind him, he sighed and silently grunted out of frustration. "Haha, my name is George, honey." Lee heard Carver say from a distance, as Lee tried desperately to think of a plan to be rid of the approaching walker.

"Think, c'mon…" He whispered to himself, as the growls and noises grew slightly louder.

"Pleasure to meet you." Bill continued. Lee rolled onto his back, shuffling up against the tree trunk and kept his eyes on the walker, it was only a few steps away. "Mind if I come in for a bit?" He heard Bill say.

"Yes I do mind…" Another voice said, this one higher pitched. This voice distracted Lee, he was sure he had heard it before, he turned his head over with wide eyes, before a large heavy force crushed down onto him, Lee quickly snapped back, as he attempted to keep the walker from taking a bite out of his face.

Lee grunted and kicked the walker off of him and quickly stood up, running over to the stunned walker's body, Lee proceeded to kick the walker's tender and weak skull in with a crack and a squelch. Lee exhaled slowly and dropped back down onto the ground, after checking the land for nearby walkers, there were a few around, but not close enough to worry about.

Lee listened in again. "I'll cut to the chase, I'm looking for my group, seven of them to be exact. Would be an eighth by now, maybe, if he's gotten that far. They've been gone a long while and I'm starting to get worried that they might've gotten lost. Maybe you've seen 'em? Couple of farm boys and an old man. Spanish guy and his daughter, quiet girl. Bit taller than you. Big black guy." Bill said, gesturing his hands out to make him look fatter. "This big. And a pretty little pregnant lady. Also, this other guy, if he's with 'em, might now be. Tall, black, has his arm bandaged up, has been since I met him, probably still does."

"Motherfucker…" Lee grunted quietly, he would have done something, but if Carver disappeared, he'd be hunted down and killed, along with everyone else, plus he'd seen Carver fight, and he knew he wouldn't beat him in open combat. Lee couldn't hear the other person's quiet response, sounded like whispers from where he was standing.

Lee sighed as he noticed them walk in to another room, and out of sight, he stayed down for a few more minutes, awaiting for Carver to leave. If this person he was talking to wasn't with the group, he or she might have known where they were, if Lee used a less mysterious and more honest approach.

Lee spotted Carver walking back in to the room, the person he was talking too was still out of sight, all he could see was it was a small figure, wearing a pink top, and was wearing some kind of hat, obvious by the tip of the blue cap they were wearing. And then he saw her….

"Sarah…" Lee mumbled to himself. He could spot her through the window. He had finally found at least one person in the group. She was rightly hiding behind a couch from Bill, she looked frightened out of her mind.

Bill kept on mumbling and shifting around the room, talking about shirts and chess, before moving upstairs, completely out of sight. After a few minutes, he emerged back downstairs. "You have a real good day now." He said to the figure who was standing on the balcony, before walking out the door. Lee tipped his head down, up enough to see him visibly walk away.

Lee let out a sigh of relief before crawling over to the house, after he knew Carver wasn't turning back. "Okay…" He said, as he approached the now closed door.

He put his hand up to the window, hesitating to knock. "Who are you fucking kidding, Lee?" He mumbled to himself, before opening the door. "Sarah! It's Lee! It's okay, I'm not with-

Lee cut himself off, realising who Sarah was standing up on the landing with. The girl Carver was talking to. Short, but tall for her age, wearing cargo jeans and a pink and purple shirt. But that wasn't what Lee noticed. Her face was a lot skinnier, but still how Lee remembered, with her tiny slightly snubbed nose, her deep emerald eyes, and the ebony black hair tied back in bunches, with the same hair bobbles Lilly had given her, underneath the hat. The hat. The blue and white ball cap with the D in the centre. Clem's hat.

"Lee!? How did you-

"Lee...?" Clementine said in a high, shaky and slightly muted voice, cutting Sarah's surprised voice off.

Lee felt like he had been hit with a rock, right in his head. His eyes were uncontrollably filled with tears, to match Clem's, as he dropped down to his knees, dropping the rifle and the nearly empty backpack he was holding, down to his sides, slamming them both onto the floor. "My god…" He said in his thoughts, although he had always said that he'd find her eventually, subconsciously, and sometimes consciously, he never thought he'd find her. "Clementine?" He said, squeakily. Lee stood up as Clementine ran down the stairs, she jumped off one of the last stairs into Lee's arms, Lee's reflexes were just quick enough to catch her and hold her in his arms. They pushed their foreheads together breaking into tears and laughs. "You've gotten taller…" He said.

"So have you." She whispered.

"Am I missing something?" Sarah sighed.

"You have no idea." Clementine giggled, tearfully, as she sat comfortably in Lee's arms.

"You have no idea how long I've been looking for you." Lee sobbed.

"How have you been looking for me?" Clementine sniffled. "You…you got infected…"

"I have no idea…" Lee panted. "But…we're back together now, and I'm fairly certain this isn't a dream."

Clementine playfully punched Lee's arm. "Did you feel that?" Clementine giggled.

"Yes…you've gotten strong." Lee sniggered.

"Then this is real life." She gasped.

Lee laughed, uncontrollably as he held Clementine in his arms once again, he fell backwards onto the couch, with her still in his grip, collapsing back, finally letting go of the hysterical excitement in his brain, although still with seemingly endless butterflies in his stomach. "This is happening…" Lee chuckled.

"Can someone fill me in here, please?" Sarah said quietly.

"Well, I'm Clem's…uh…I looked after her since the start." Lee said.

"What…what happened?" Sarah asked.

Lee sat up, still not wanting to let go of Clementine, so, he cuddled her up to his sides as he slowly un-wrapped the bandages off of his arm. "I was bitten. God knows how, but I lived through the virus, it has its side effects, but nothing major…yet anyway." Lee explained.

"I'm so sorry…" Clementine said, almost breaking into tears at the site of slightly faded, but still visible bite.

"For what?" Lee asked.

"I got kidnapped, it's my fault. None of this would have happened." Clementine said, tears beginning to fall down her face.

"You were eight, that's the last time I want to hear that, okay? I'm alive, you've still got me, and I've still got you." Those were the words that made Lee realise where he was, he was with his girl, back with a group he could trust. Things were finally beginning to look up for him. "I've got you."

 **...ah…I needed that…I mean I really needed that. I know you guys have been waiting for this for a long time, so here you go! :D**


	13. A Man Was Here

"Clementi-

Luke cut himself off as he spotted Lee snapping his head around, simultaneously with Clementine, as the group piled through the door. "Lee?" Luke said in a shock, before breaking into a smile.

"Sarah!" Carlos yelled, before Sarah ran into his open arms.

"Fuck me…" Luke smiled, as Lee and Clem stood up from the couch.

"Luke, I'm…I'm sorry I didn't come with you." Lee said.

"Wha…? What? Never mind that, we can talk about that on the way. Clem, you were with Nick, right? We've gotta go find him!" Luke said.

Sarah broke off the hug and stood back. "A man was here." She said.

"What did she say?" Rebecca growled.

"Someone came to the cabin…before Lee." Sarah said, with her head bowed down to her feet.

"What?!" Rebecca gasped.

"Clementine talked to him." Sarah said, sadly, feeling under pressure.

"And you just opened the door for him?!" Rebecca interrogated.

"Hey, watch it, he basically broke in, she didn't have a choice." Lee intercepted.

"What the hell are you doing here anyway?!" Rebecca yelled.

"Calm down, Rebecca." Luke said.

"Calm down?! I am calm! You calm down!" Rebecca said.

"Right." Lee sighed.

"You want to pipe up, Lee? Go ahead!" Rebecca spat.

"He was coming in, either way!" Clementine said.

"I told you not to open the door for anyone!" Carlos said, gritting his teeth. "Did he say his name? Did he say what his name was?" Carlos asked, nervously.

"He said his name was George." Clementine said.

"It wasn't." Lee said. The group stared at Lee, shakily. "It was Carver. I didn't see his face, but the voice, the coat…it was him." Lee said.

"Are you sure? Clem, what did he look like?" Carlos asked.

"His voice was…gravelly." Clementine said, moving her eyes to her left, trying to remember who it was.

"Like how?" Carlos asked, quickly.

"I dunno…like deep and scratchy…"

"It was him, Carlos. Whether you want to know it or not." Lee said.

"He…he talked about you, dad." Sarah said, shakily and visibly nervous. "You're not going to hurt anyone are you?" Sarah asked.

"Of course he's not Sarah, all right? Your dad's the nicest man I know, which is why I know…" Luke moved his gaze to Carlos. "He's not going to do in anything crazy…or not nice. Right?"

"You know these are bad people, sweetie. They will do or say anything to hurt us…" Carlos said.

"All right, what do you think? Did it sound like he was going to come back?" Luke asked, turning his attention to Clementine and Lee.

"No idea from where I was standing. I spent most of it trying to kill a walker. Clem?" Lee asked, crouching down next to her.

Clem didn't get a chance to answer before Sarah piped up. "He saw a picture of me…" Sarah said, nervously and quietly, as if she didn't want anyone to hear it.

Carlos turned to Sarah. "A picture?! What were you doing taking pictures?!" He yelled strictly, through his teeth.

"Carlos, calm down." Lee said.

"You're scaring your daughter." Luke added.

"I took the picture. It's my fault." Clementine said.

"Not everything is your fault, Clem…" Lee said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"This was. It was…my idea." Clementine said.

"No, it was mine, it's my fault." Sarah said.

"Sarah…" Carlos sighed, his voice filled with disappointment. "He was scouting. We got lucky. He wasn't expecting to find us." Carlos said. "Clementine must've surprised him. If she hadn't had been there...Well, he was too smart to stick around. But he'll be back with the rest." Carlos said.

"Yeah, and I'd rather not have Bonnie and Vince catch up with me. They looked unstable before I left…dread to think what it'll be like when they see me after I abandoned them." Lee added.

"Nevertheless, we don't have much time." Carlos said.

"He's right. Everyone pack up, we're moving out." Luke said.

Alvin quietly growled before storming out the kitchen door. "Alvin, wait…" Rebecca sighed, following him.

Carlos crouched down, as Clem and Lee moved toward Luke. "We have to go now sweetie, before he comes back with more bad guys. But it's gonna be okay." Carlos said. "Let's just…go get your things."

Lee always hated how Carlos treated Sarah. He didn't exactly treat Clem like military, but she knew how to survive. "So…you were with them too?" Clem asked, looking up at Lee.

"Yeah…" Lee said, with a sigh.

"Why did you leave his camp?" She asked.

"It started out okay. Everything was good, warm showers, food every day. Then supplies ran out, we had to ration everything. My friends, Wyatt and Bonnie, they used to take bad stuff, they got off of them, but I guess things got too much, they just lost it, stealing alcohol and started smoking on something, every day. They stopped eventually, but they're not exactly taking it well…I had to get out, Bill starting getting insane." Lee said.

"He's right. Clem I don't know what he told you, but William Carver is a dangerous man." Carlos said.

"Alright you two, we've got to find Nick on our way out of here. You know where he was right?" Luke asked Clementine.

"Yeah." Clementine said.

"Alright, everybody grab your stuff, let's hit the road." Luke announced.

Clem went in to the living room to grab her backpack which Lee took off of her, carrying it at his side for her, along with his backpack, which he had flung around his shoulders.

The group left the cabin, walking down a dirt path in the middle of the forest. Lee was holding Clementine's hand, like he used to. "You said it was just up here?" Luke asked, gesturing in front of him.

Clementine nodded as Luke picked up his pace. "Yeah, just a little ways." She said.

Rebecca walked up behind Lee and Clem, eventually joining them. "Hey Clem, sorry if I gave you some shit back there. I'm just a little on edge." Rebecca said. "I still don't like what you did around us, taking advantage of my husband-

"Sorry…what?" Lee cut in.

"They locked me…uh…ahem…" Clementine said, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck.

"Locked you where…?" Lee said, grouchily.

Clementine looked at her feet. "…Uhm…in a…shed…" She mumbled.

"Whoa...What the fuck?!" Lee said, letting go of Clem's hand. "Luke, you want to tell me the fuck you were thinking?!"

"Lee, I can explain-

"No, Clem, you don't need to. I want to hear it from Luke." He growled.

"Lee, just let Clem-

"No. I want your side of the story, Luke. What happened-

"Lee!" Clementine yelled, grabbing Lee's attention instantly. "I was bitten by a dog, okay? They thought it was a walker bite." Clementine said, rolling up her shirt sleeve to show Lee the bandages.

"Clem…oh my god…" Lee said, stopping the group to inspect the bandages.

"Its fine, Carlos helped, but I had to sew it back together." Clementine said. "I mean…ugh..." Clementine rubbed her eyes. "I mean…"

"She had to what?!" Lee quickly grew into a blinding rage, clenching his fists and crunching his face.

"Look, we were wrong Lee, but now is not the time…" Luke said.

"Wrong? Wrong, you fucking locked her in a shed, and she sewed a fucking dog bite together?!" Lee grunted.

Clementine looked up at Lee and smiled, a face she used when she had an idea. She came closer to Lee and held his hand, stroking it with her thumb. "Lee…don't be mad. I'm just…glad I have you now…" She said, with large sad eyes.

Lee looked down at her and sighed, before crouching down and hugging her tightly.

Luke smiled at Clem and winked, she smiled back, trying to hold back a fit of laughter.

"Sorry…I just…I need some pain killers." Lee said, joining back to Clem's hand.

"Pain killers? What for?" Luke asked.

"Well, the bite keeps me having these little fits now and again. Pain killers puts it off for about a week or two. Same way if my bite gets hot, or warm, or infected or whatever, I'll need to clean the bite, or…well I've never let it go too far. But…I just don't want to hurt anybody…"

"Here." Alvin said, passing Lee two pain killers and a plastic bottle of water.

Lee took the pills and exhaled. "Alright. That's better." Lee said, nodding to Alvin, passing back the water bottle.

The group continued on down the path, knowing that the noise would attract walkers soon. Plus, Clem knew Nick was drunk and out of his mind when she left him, so if he wasn't dead already, they didn't have long.

 **PLEASE READ THIS MESSAGE**

 **Thanks for reading. So, if you like my writing and/or 8 year old Clemmy being adorable, keep an eye on my profile for my new story: Clementine. In which Clem is basically 8 years old during season 2. It's going to be full of drama, mystery, and of course, Clementine being the cutest damn thing ever.**

 **If you do check it out, let me know what you think by reviewing that story. Thanks!**


	14. See You On The Other Side

**As a special thanks for reading and for reviewing so positively, I've made an extra-long chapter, nearly 3000 words…now I need to edit it…ripperoni pepperoni.**

"There, that's where we were." Clementine said, pointing to a shed, with walkers scattered around the front. Lee and Luke prepared to storm the shed. The two cleared the walkers from around the shed, Luke with his machete, Lee with a small axe he had found during his journey to Clementine.

Lee and Luke snuck up to the shed door and looked at each other, then down to Clem, who was just behind Lee. The three heard faint groaning behind the shed door. "Nick!" Luke looked nervously at Lee and Clem. "Get the door." He said.

Lee and Clem both tugged open the shed door. Clem peeked through the door. "I…I don't see anything." She said. The three charged through the door. Luke looked in horror at Nick's collapsed body on the floor, he snuck over to Nick before he noticed his eyes open. Nick was extremely pale and sickly, but with the empty jars of whiskey scattered all over the floor, he knew what had happened.

"Jesus." He said.

Nick pressed his hands on the ground so he could sit up. "Oh, hey man. You got any aspirin?" He said nonchalantly, before collapsing back onto the ground.

"Nick, you asshole." Luke laughed.

Lee shook his head with a smile before looking down at Clementine. "Never have alcohol, sweet pea." He joked.

Clementine's eyes shot wide open, before slowly closing again. "Uh…of course not…" She said.

Lee stared at Clem, and shook his head before looking back at Luke, who was helping Nick back onto his feet. Luke looked at Nick, looking annoyed, but snapped out of it to hug him tightly. "…Pete's dead." He said.

"I know man, I do. We gotta get movin' okay? Carver's gang showed up, can you make it." Luke said.

"I wasn't part of it." Lee piped up.

Nick wiped his eyes and looked over at Lee, then back at Luke awkwardly. Lee and Nick never really got along, Lee had always thought he was childish and quick to anger, like a younger Kenny.

After the whole gang had carried on walking, they managed to find themselves along a straight cobblestone pathway, leading through a thick forest. "Hey Clem…" Nick said from behind Lee and Clem, who were still joined in hands. "I just wanted to say…thanks for not giving up on me."

"I'm sorry about Pete…" She said.

"Me too, man." Lee said.

"Yeah…thanks…" Nick said, trudging back away from Lee and Clem.

Luke joined the line of Clem and Lee. "What happened back there in that cellar? Did he do something stupid? You can tell us." Luke said, Lee agreed by nodding.

"He got drunk. I was scared." Clementine said.

"Goddamit…" Luke growled.

"And you didn't have any…right?" Lee said sceptically.

"Of…course…" Clementine said with a forced giggle.

"I'm worried about that kid…keep an eye on him for me, would ya?" Luke asked. "So…you sure you still wanna come with us?" Luke asked.

"We're in this together now. I'm being hunted too. We're safer in a group." Lee said.

"Good, we're glad to have you. And we may not be perfect, but we look out for each other." Luke said with a wide smile. "Now, I reckon it'll take about four to five days to reach those mountains. Now if they're tracking us, we'll be able to lose 'em up there."

"Five days?" Rebecca gasped.

"It's gonna be okay, Bec." Alvin reassured.

"We have to keep moving. It's our only choice now." Carlos said.

 _ **Five Days Later**_

The group carried on, walking (by that point it was more trudging) they were past exhausted, food and water rations low, but the fact that if they slowed down, they'd be hunted down and killed kept them rather motivated. The eight found themselves at a large red and rusty steel bridge. It looked like it was near collapsing. Clementine attempted to climb up a large boulder, to scout out the bridge, as the rest of the group nearly collapsed down onto the floor.

"See anything?" Luke asked, as Lee passed her a pair of binoculars.

"She better see something, we've been walking for a damn week." Alvin mumbled grumpily.

Clem scouted out the bridge and what was above it. She managed to spot a large building on top of a mountain. "There's a building on the mountain." She said, still peering down the binoculars.

"What's it look like?" Luke asked.

"It's…big…" She said.

"That sounds like a good place to spend the night." Luke said.

"Yeah it does." Lee said. "…Well…in the case the place isn't filled with zombies."

"There's a lift…or something…" Clementine said.

"Like what kind of lift?" Lee asked.

"Like a chair lift? It must be that ski resort." Luke said.

"I've…never been skiing." Clementine said, dropping the binoculars to her side for a moment.

"Bec and I went once." Alvin said.

"It wasn't pretty…" Rebecca giggled.

"That's the bridge." She said.

"Does it look passible?" Luke asked.

"I think so." Clementine said.

"Good." Luke and Lee said simultaneously.

"There's a little house by the bridge." Clementine added.

"How big is it?" Carlos asked.

"It's…pretty small." Clem said.

"We have to cross that bridge, let's go." Carlos said.

"Hold on now, we can't go sprinting across that thing, okay?" Luke said. "If we got spotted out there we're gonna be trapped."

"Going around that thing will take too long." Carlos said.

"Right, but…we have no idea who's out there. Alright, I'm gonna sneak across and make sure it's clear before we bring the whole group over." Luke said.

"You think splitting up the group is a good idea?" Carlos argued.

"Well, I never said it was a good idea…but it's better than riskin' everyone at once." He said.

"What's your plan?" Alvin asked.

"Lee and I can scoot across low and slow and make sure no one's waiting for us on the other side." Luke said.

"We'll have a tough time covering you from back here." Alvin said.

"Well, we'll just turn back if we have to." Luke said.

"I'm going with you." Clem said.

"No, you're not, sweet pea." Lee scoffed.

"I agree, Clementine should stay here, she's…" Carlos murmured.

"She's what?" Luke said, squinting his eyes and crossing his arms.

"She's just a little girl, Luke." Carlos said.

"She's a valuable little girl." Luke said. "I mean hell if she's fit to sew up her own arm, she's fit to cross a bridge."

"I can do it." She said.

"I know you can, and you're very valuable, especially to me, which is why I want her to stay here. If she can't help us on the bridge she can guard the rest of the group." Lee said. "And that's the last I'm hearing of it."

"Whoa…okay pops, let's move up. Now guys, we'll signal you in ten minutes. Just watch out for the light at the far side." Luke said. "Let's go dad." He joked.

"Hey, you better watch it Luke." Lee said.

"I can go too." Nick said.

"Nick you stay with the group." Luke said.

"Stay here, help Clem guard." Lee said.

"I don't like this." Carlos added.

"When's the last time you liked anything, Carlos?" Luke said.

Lee smiled and fist-bumped Luke, before checking around to see if anyone had noticed. Clementine looked at them with squinted eyes as they approached the bridge.

"Hey…uh…sorry about defending your girl for you there." Luke said. "It's just…I don't want her to end up like Sarah, y'know?"

"I hear you. And I trust her with my life. Hell, I trust her with yours, don't I?" Lee said with a smug smile. "Besides, you defended her, I can't get mad at you for that. I see the way she looks at you, you're like a brother to her."

Luke widened his eyes, before restoring them back to a normal look, with a slight smile. He liked the way that made him feel, like he had someone who looked up to him.

Before long the two stumbled upon a two walkers limping around the side of the bridge, one was slumped up against a rock, with no legs, and the other was standing about rocking side to side like any stationary walker would. "Ready?" Lee asked.

"You bet." Luke said, readying the machete.

"I've got the big one." Lee said.

"I could say a joke there…but I'm just not going near it." Luke said, keeping his eyes on the shorter walker of the two. "Alright, I've got shorty."

Lee readied the axe he was holding and swung it around a few times, getting used to the feel, before standing up, getting ready to fight the walkers. Lee approached the stood up walker and placed the hatchet in the back of his head, then swiftly ripped it out. Luke did the same with the slumped over walker.

The two smiled at each other before silently carrying on down the bridge, they kept to the sturdy metal sides, for an obvious reason. The two spotted a walker, attempting to crawl towards the two, emerging from under a charred train carriage. Then another sitting up from the side of the bridge, followed by two more coming from behind them.

"Shit." Luke said.

"Shit." Lee sighed.

Luke approached the ones limping towards them, whilst Lee stayed behind to fight the two closest to them. Luke slowly walked towards the walkers, but stopping halfway with a scream. Lee looked around to see Luke had fallen through two boards of wood, along with a walker, thankfully he was suspended by two metal bars that he was attempting to get upright on, but at the same time, the other walker had grabbed onto a piece of the metal bridge and was gnashing his slobbery yellow teeth and swinging his broken claws around. "I'm alright, I'm okay!" He said. "I'm just stuck!"

"Oh? Just that?" Lee grunted, as he kicked an approaching walker off of the bridge.

"You alright up there?" Luke struggled.

"Yeah, absolutely fantastic!" He yelled, attempting to swipe his axe into an approaching walker's head, but he completely missed, striking the walker in the shoulder. The zombie slashed its claws around in Lee's direction, knocking Lee back, landing him on his back. The walker approached further, at the same time was Lee shuffling back. He got back onto his feet, clenching his fists and holding them up in front of him. The walker growled and shuffled further towards him, unarmed, and unable to see a weapon near he could grab, all Lee could do was back away further. "What now?!" He yelled.

"I…I can get myself out of this, alright? You just run back and get help." Luke said.

"That's a terrible idea…" Lee shouted.

"I know!" Luke yelled.

"Just…be ready for me to grab you!" He quickly kicked the closest walker over and helped Luke up, his arm was just long enough to reach him. Luke managed to get himself back up, with Lee's help. The two stared at each other "Well, this is the stupidest idea I've ever had…" Luke said, smashing the brain of the walker Lee had kicked over.

"Agreed." Lee picked up Luke's machete which he had dropped on the ground, and stabbed one last approaching walker through it's forehead. "I gotta get me one of these…" Lee said, handing it back to Luke.

"Good luck finding one. C'mon, let's keep going." Luke said.

The two carried on down the bridge, before stopping dead in their tracks, as they spotted a figure approaching. "You see him?" Luke asked.

"I see him…" Lee said.

"Who does the talking?" Luke asked.

"Fuck, I don't know…" Lee said nervously.

"Well I don't know either…" Luke mumbled.

"Well, who are you?!" The man yelled.

"Hey, we don't want to get into a fight here, alright?" Lee said.

"Good, you're not assholes, then. At least I don't think so…" The man said. "You didn't answer my question."

"I'm Lee! This is my friend Luke!" He said, gesturing for Luke to approach the man with him, slowly.

The man joined Lee and Luke, as he walked up to them. "So, you folks headed north like everyone else?" He asked. Now being able to see him, Lee made out the man looked slightly like Vince, but paler and with different facial hair, he was wearing a black and grey skiing hoodie and cargo pants.

"Everyone else?" Luke asked.

"I see at least a group a day move through here." He said.

"You seen a guy move up here? Brown hair, thick coat with a fur collar, not often alone." Lee asked.

"Huh, maybe." He said.

Lee looked at Luke and back. "Huh?" He asked.

"No, no, I mean a lot of people come through here." He asked. "No offence, but I gotta say, you two look like shit. Need some food? I got some canned stuff in the station back there."

"Well that's…uh…awful nice of you. What's the catch?" Luke asked.

"No catch. I've got plenty." He said.

"Well alright then. Thank you." Luke said.

"No problem, it's just nice to see a couple of friendly faces." The man said, before staring behind Lee and Luke. "Wait, what the fuck man?!"

"Jesus Christ, Nick…" Lee sighed.

"The hell is he doin'?" Luke said.

Nick squinted his eyes and lifted his rifle up, aiming down the sights. The man did it as well, aiming back at Nick.

"No, no, no, he's with us." Luke said.

"Nick! Put the goddamn rifle down! He's good!" Lee yelled as loud as he possibly could.

Luke grabbed the back of Lee's neck and threw himself and Lee on the ground as a loud gunshot went off. They looked back up to see the man's neck red, spitting out blood into his hand. The man stumbled off of the bridge, falling off to his death.

Lee and Luke turned round and stormed towards him. "The fuck is wrong with you?" Lee spat.

"Did I hit him? Where'd he go?" Nick asked nervously.

"He was helping us!" Lee growled.

"Dammit Nick, I told you not to shoot!" Luke yelled.

"Stop yelling, both of you, the gunshot was loud enough, we need to get off of this bridge, right now." Lee said.

Luke gestured for the rest of the group to come across the bridge. After they had walked down, they stopped off at the cabin, everyone sat down on the grass outside, Rebecca and Alvin sitting on a nearby log. "Who the fuck was that back there?!" Rebecca gasped.

"I don't know." Luke said.

"It looked like he had a gun on you." Alvin said.

"That asshole drew on me! He was about to shoot!" Nick argued.

"No, he was holding a gun, you drew on him, and you shot!" Lee yelled.

"Man, you need some more pain killers, it's been about a week." Luke asked.

"No, this isn't the bite, it's a different thing. It's because Nick is being a dumbass with an itchy trigger finger." Lee yelled.

Luke sighed as Alvin passed him a packet of ibuprofen. "Dude, take 'em." Lee ignored Luke and kept on arguing with Nick.

Luke crouched down next to Clem. "Clem, think you can work your magic?" He whispered.

Clem sighed and nodded. "Lee, stop. You're scaring me…take the pain killers, they'll make you feel better." Clementine said, doing the same sad eyes and high-pitched voice, holding on to Lee's arm.

"God dammit…" Lee mumbled.

"Take 'em." Luke said, throwing the pack of pain killers to Lee.

Lee popped the ibuprofen into his mouth and dry-swallowed them before rubbing his head. "Ugh…" He groaned. "Sorry, you were just trying to defend us, I get that."

"No, now that's sorted out; Nick, in the end you still killed a fucker, he had food and water, he was going to share it with us! All of us!" Luke argued.

"We don't know that." Lee said. "It could have been a trap."

"And if it wasn't? That's another kind person who's met an unfair end." Luke growled. His angry face turned sad as he sighed. "Look, I know Pete was close to you, Nick but you can't-

"Don't you fucking talk about him!" Nick threatened.

"Do you think he was with Carver?" Carlos asked.

"I don't know. I…no, I don't think so. But he fell over." Luke said.

"He fell off the damn bridge?!" Alvin exclaimed.

"We have to keep moving." Carlos interrupted.

"I can't, I need a minute." Rebecca said, rubbing her stomach.

"Fine." Carlos said.

"You okay?" Lee asked.

"Yeah…fine…fine, I just need to sit down." Rebecca said, holding her hand out in front of her.

"Luke, can I talk to you alone?" Carlos asked, before the two walked off behind a tree.


	15. Kenny

**I think we've all been waiting for his, let's get right into it! :D**

Lee strayed behind back down to Clem, who was at the back of the group, as they all made their way up the mountain to the ski lodge at the top of the hill. Clementine looked up at him and smiled.

"Hey, sweet pea. We haven't talked too much lately, huh? How are you holding up?" Lee asked.

"I'm okay." Clem said. "I just hope we find a nice place to stay. Maybe even find Christa."

"Yeah…me too, I need words with that girl…" Lee huffed.

"She was really nice to me, Lee." Clem giggled. "I probably wouldn't have made it this far without her."

"I know, it's just…from everything that's been happening since I…y'know. I'm just finding it a little hard to accept how well you're taking all this. I guess you're all grown up, aren't you? Not my little girl anymore." Lee sighed sarcastically.

Clem pushed Lee playfully. "Shut up! I'll always be your little girl." She giggled.

"Oh yeah?" Lee smiled.

"Yeah!" She laughed.

"Man, are we there yet?" Lee complained.

"Wait…who's the little girl again?" Clementine giggled.

"Y'know, maybe I shouldn't be calling you sweet pea, maybe it should be the sass master." Lee scoffed, poking Clem's shoulders playfully.

"C'mon, we're nearly there." Clem said.

"Listen, Clem, I was wandering…you're happy, aren't you?" Lee asked.

"I'd be happy if I had food, a warm shower, a house…but…yes, I'm happy." Clem said. "I have you back, I'm happier than I have been in ages. What about you?"

"Happiest I've been since the start of this. Even before that, I was being taken away in a police car." Lee said, quietly, not wanting the rest of the group to hear.

"Lee…what happened?" Clem asked.

"What do you mean?" Lee asked.

"Why were you being taken to prison?" She asked.

"Well, I…my wife, I came home to her one day. She was…well she was with another man." Lee said.

"You mean they were having-

"Don't…say that word. I haven't heard you swear yet and I'd like to keep it that way, let alone say that." Lee chuckled.

"Am I going to get a timeout if I say a bad word?" Clem mocked.

"Maybe." Lee smirked. "Anyway, I…I got into a fight, and I ended up killing him, I didn't mean to, you know that, right?"

"I've seen people eating people, I was kidnapped when I was eight. I'd believe anything, Lee." Clem said.

"Oh, you're so quick, aren't you?" Lee said, grabbing Clem's shoulder and pulling her towards him.

That was when Lee realised, he and Clem had majorly fallen back, without him or anyone in the group noticing. They were already at the top of the mountain. Lee and Clem laughed and ran up the hill, only to be met by yelling and cursing from their group and three others. Lee thought he should intervene so he and Clem joined into the large huddle.

"Listen everyone just stay calm!" Luke announced.

"Who are you?! Are you trying to rob us?" A woman, with a light and clearly foreign accent commanded.

"Excuse me honey, but do I look like a fucking thief?" Rebecca snapped.

Lee pushed through the group, with Clementine sticking closely to him. "The hell is going…" Lee slowly stopped himself as he noticed the unbelievable sight in front of him. "…on."

"Kenny?!" Clem exclaimed running over to him, hugging him tightly.

It was him. Kenny. Lee's old friend. Still wearing the shabby old trucker's hat, but now with a large grey beard.

"Motherfucker…" Lee laughed, not knowing how to react to the man in front of him, who he had thought died years ago.

"But…you died." The two said at the same time.

"You were in an alley full of walkers, Ken!" Lee said.

"Oh, yeah? You were fucking bitten!" Kenny yelled in amazement. Lee didn't say another word, instead just embraced his old friend. "Now, who are these guys, my replacements?"

"Someone want to tell me what the fuck is going on?" Luke said.

"Sorry, hold on, bitten?!" The woman with the accent said, she looked like she from India, or somewhere in southern Asia.

"Yeah…bitten?" Another said, this man was rather old and chubby, looking about a decade older than Lee.

Lee showed Kenny and his group his un-bandaged arm, who he was fine to have left undressed, knowing it needed air now and again, so it didn't get too hot or swollen. "Damn…how are you…still here?" Kenny said in astonishment.

"Guys, can we talk about this inside?" Luke said, folding his arms to keep them warm.

"Yeah, of course, of course. Let's head inside…mother fuckers…" Kenny exclaimed, still extremely surprised. He led the rest of the group inside of the ski lodge, it was a large hall-like place, lit up and decorated for Christmas, with fairy lights scattered everywhere, and a large Christmas tree, reaching to the high ceiling.

The man walked in front of Kenny, Lee and Clem, beginning to explain about the lodge. "Kenny and Sarita have been staying with us for several weeks. Used to be a ski lodge, obviously, so we have plenty of food." He said, beginning to walk up a set of steps. "And…believe it or not, we still get some power from the wind turbine outside. We tend to keep most of the lights off during the night to avoid attracting attention." Kenny stopped in front of Lee and Clem and began waving his hands around, moving his hands up and down on top of his thumb to simulate a talking mouth, while silently pretending to talk. Clem began to quietly giggle whereas Lee just scoffed, shaking his head.

"What's funny?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing, Walt…"


	16. Ski Lodge

"And who was the one who escaped?" Lee argued, jokingly, as he leaned back on the couch.

"Actually, that was Clem." Kenny scoffed.

The two looked over to Clem who was placing an angel at the top of the Christmas tree. "Oh yeah…" Lee laughed. "Well, who was the one who came back to life…?"

"Alright, alright, fair play." Kenny sighed. "But for real, it's…it's just so great to have you and Clementine back. We're all safe, for now at least. But I swear to god, if Lilly or someone walks through the door, I'll lose it…" He chuckled.

"Yeah, safe…look, Ken, man I need to tell you-

"Well, everyone! Dinner is served! C'mon let's eat." Walter said.

The group all gathered around the benches, sitting down in front of individual bowls. Lee and Clem sat either side of Kenny, whereas Luke and the rest sat on the other bench.

"So, what were you talking about?" Clem asked, taking a spoon full of food.

"The time you saved our asses." Kenny said.

"Which one?" Clementine giggled.

"Fair point…" Lee said. "What about you, what have you been talking about?"

"Christmas." She said, before swallowing the spoonful of food.

"So, what's with your group?" Kenny asked.

"That is a long story…" Lee said.

"We're not in much of a rush, are we?" He persisted.

"Well, I was originally held up with this group, stoners, all of 'em. Smoking on god knows what, I met my friend Wyatt there. That was about a day or two after waking up. Then the shit hit the fan there, and we ran, only me and Wyatt got back together I think. I'll be honest, I don't think the others made it. But then we found Vince and his group. Spent a few months with 'em. Then Tavia found us." Lee explained.

"Who?" Clem and Kenny asked.

"Tavia, she took us to this place, Ho-

"How's it going Lee?" Luke interrupted, sitting down parallel to the three.

"Good, thanks." Lee said awkwardly. "Anyway, we were at this place-

"Oh, you selfish little bastard, you." Luke panted, nervously. "Let's…uh…hear what happened with Clem. You hardly even know yourself!"

"Yeah, sure. What happened with you, Clementine?" Kenny asked.

"Well, after Lee got bitten, I left Savannah. I met Christa and Omid on a hill. They took care of me, it was really nice. Then we went into this diner. But…Omid was shot. Christa was going to have a baby but…anyway, she kinda lost it. One day our camp was raided, they chased me around this stream, and I fell in. When I woke up I met a dog. His name was Sam…when I found some food, he wanted some, I gave him a little but…he…he attacked me. Then Luke and Nick's uncle, Pete. They saved me." She said.

Lee hugged Clem to his side and smiled down to her, and her back to him.

"Pete couldn't save himself…" Nick said, as he sat next to Luke.

"Sorry man…Nick, right? Luke…and Nick…you sure do look like a match." Kenny said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nick asked.

"I'm just sayin' you two look like great friends, that's all." Kenny said, slurring his words slightly.

"Now, what was your plan? Gonna hold up here through winter?" Luke asked.

"No, we were thinking of moving north. Place called Wellington." Kenny said.

"Wellington?" Lee asked.

"Yeah, you heard of it?" Kenny asked.

"Yeah, that's where me and Christa were heading." Clem said.

"Yeah, I think I heard about that place, Vince was talking about it. The place near Michigan?" Lee said.

"Michigan?" Nick asked.

"You got a hearing problem kid, yeah Michigan!" Kenny said. "Think about it, clean water, lots of land, and cold ass winters, so the walkers get slow!"

"Sounds like bullshit." Nick said.

"Listen vanilla ice, I don't know what your problem is, but you're welcome to take off in the morning." Kenny argued.

"C'mon, Ken, you're being unfair." Lee said, calmly

"Oh you're taking the side of the guy who looks like he has a fourteen year olds facial hair?" He spat.

"Hey fuck you, buddy." Nick argued.

"Please, don't fight." Clementine said.

"Gentlemen, please. There's no need for this." Walter said. "Now, look, we've all had a long day. Please, eat."

"Pass me that can, Duck." Kenny said, pointing to a can, in front of Clementine.

An awkward silence fell across the room, as everyone stared at Kenny. "Ken, you alright, buddy?" Lee asked.

"Duck? Who's Duck?" Luke asked.

"Leave him alone, Luke." Clem said.

"Hey, Clem, Lee, why don't you two give me a hand outside for a moment?" Walter said, attempting to break the situation.

Clem and Lee followed him outside. "Ah…I'm sorry about that." Walter groaned. "Now, I used to be a teacher, and I remember what it was like when I got caught between to cliques. I expect they'll find common ground soon enough." Walter said.

"Man, am I glad I never taught in a high school." Lee laughed.

"Oh, you were a teacher? Where did you teach?" Walter asked.

"University of Georgia, I taught history." He said, as the three began to walk down the side of the lodge.

"That's really something, did you teach there a long time?" He asked.

"Nah, I was gone on my fourth year, but it was good while it lasted." He said.

"That's too bad, you seem like a great teacher. So, what are your plans?" Walter asked.

Clem looked up at Lee. "Well, Walt, then thing is, we're under a lot of heat with someone right now. We can't really stick around." He said.

"No, no, you've got to stay." Walter said.

"Lee's right, we have to keep moving." Clem agreed.

"Clementine, in this world you don't have to do anything." Walter said, stopping the two at the corner of the lodge. "They say the world is over, but I'll tell you two a secret: it's not." He continued. "People are more political now than they've ever been before. In the end we can't change the world, all we can do is continue to learn from each other; to empathize, and use our heads. 'All war is a symptom of a man's failure as a thinking animal.'" Walter said.

"Steinbeck, huh?" Lee said.

"Yeah, Clem, have you read him?" Walter asked, with a smile.

Clem squinted her eyes and looked up at Lee and Walter. "Kids…" Lee scoffed, patting Clem's head.

"Well we'll have plenty of time to catch up on your reading. My partner Matthew is amassing quite the literature collection. I think you'll like him." Walter said.

Then and there, it hit Lee like a brick, Matthew was the man on the bridge. It all made sense. The peaches and everything. He looked down at Clem, then back at Walter, not knowing what to say, whilst trying to look as normal as possible, realizing they had killed a member of Kenny's group... "In any case, the point is: as long as we have our wits about us, we can always make the right choice, right?" Walter continued.

"Yeah, Right." Lee smiled.

Clem sighed and looked at her feet. "You okay, sweet pea?" Lee asked.

"Yeah, something you want to tell us?" Walter smiled. Walter and Lee crouched down in front of us. "You can talk to us, Clem." He said.

"I'm just worried about the people chasing us." She sighed.

"Don't worry, you're safe now. Matthew will be back soon and everything will be fine." Walter smiled.

"You know it. I think I proved enough nothing is going to get between us." Lee said. "Now, Clem, no matter what happens, we'll be together."

"Hey kids, what are you three talking about?" Kenny asked. The three turned around and smiled, Kenny was approaching, holding his rifle, with a smile on his face.

"Politics." Walter said.

"The hell?" Kenny laughed.

"Well, being from Florida, I'd imagine you'd know all about politics, Kenny."

"Well, maybe I'd know more, after all, I'm, y'know, urban…" Lee said, slowly looking over to Kenny.

"You sure as hell can hold a grudge." Kenny scoffed. "Anyway, I was just about to check the windows out back before the storm hits, give us a hand?"

"Sure." Walter said.

"No problem." Lee said, joining with Clem's hand before following Kenny around the corner.

Lee and the group stopped dead in their tracks. "Shit…" Lee exclaimed.

 **Hey guys! Sorry this chapter was mainly dialogue, it's just there wasn't much interaction I could think of putting. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed!**


	17. Mini Hiatus

**Hey guys, I just wanted you all to know that I'm putting this story on a mini hiatus, I can't promise this won't be a long break, because I'm bad with things like this. I'm just not feeling like I'm able to write about this, and I don't want to force it out because if I do it'll just ruin it. So it'll remain on break until I get a decent idea.**

 **However, I'm not stopping my other story: Clementine. As I think it's more exciting, and I have plenty of ideas for it, so if you like my writing, go ahead, check it out, leave a review, and thanks for putting up with my stupidness! :P**


	18. Carver

"Lee...?" Bonnie gasped.

"Bonnie…?" Lee gulped. Bonnie stared at Lee silently, with a confused, shocked and sad look on her face, before gulping and racing down the snowy slope. "Shit, fucking get her!"

"No, we can't we'll attract walkers." Kenny grunted.

"Well we can't let her go, she'll get Carver." Lee sighed.

"Carver? Who the fuck is Carver?" Kenny interrogated.

"All you need to know right now is he's dangerous. Remember the St. Johns? Worse than them." Lee said.

"Just…go…inside a sec, okay? I need to wrap my head around this, tell your people. I need to talk with Walt…" Kenny sighed.

"Come on, sweetie." Lee said, jogging back inside the ski lodge with Clementine.

"Psst, Lee…" Luke said, leaning on a suspending pillar in the lodge. "We need to talk."

"Not now, Luke. I just saw Bonnie…" Lee said.

"Bonnie?" Luke said, with wide eyes.

"They found us." Lee said. "Bonnie ran and we couldn't catch her."

"No, no that's…shit…shit this is so fucked!" Luke said. "They'll be on their way up by now."

"We need to tell the group. What did you need to tell me?" Lee asked.

"The guy…on the bridge it…I think he…" Luke sighed.

"I know, I know. But we've got more on our hands right now, Luke." Lee said.

"Lee, I'm…what do we do?" Clem asked.

"I don't know, baby, I…we need to think, a second…" Lee said.

"Guys, is everything alright?" Nick asked.

"Not now, Nick…" Lee spat.

"Whoa, hey, calm down. I only asked if-

"Carver is near us, and he's coming right now, I need to think!" Lee grunted.

"What?!" Nick gasped. "We need to get out of here! Now!"

"I know, I know, Clem, grab your stuff. Be ready to get out of here, Luke tell everyone to do the same." Lee said.

"Okay." She said, rushing over to her backpack.

"Okay, Lee, just don't freak out…okay?" Luke said.

"Guys…" Clem gasped.

"What's up?" Lee asked.

"What now?" Luke said.

"It's gone..." Clem said.

"What's gone?" Lee asked nervously.

"When we went into the shed at the bottom of the mountain I found a knife…I think it belonged to the man…it's not here…" Clementine said.

"Fuck…" Lee sighed, staring out the glass door at Walter leaning over a small bridge, holding the knife.

Lee and Clementine walked out the door and stood behind Walter. "Walter, are you…alright?" Lee asked.

"I always liked this knife…gave it to Matthew when all this started. I know he's dead." Walter said. "Who did it? Was it tha-that kid? What was it…Nick?"

"Walt, I-

"Heard him talking earlier, something about shooting a man." Walter said. "I could see it. I could see it on his face."

"Walter, we don't have time. We've all lost people, alright? But we're about to lose a heck more if we don't-

"You don't know shit…was it Nick?" Walter asked.

"Yes…yeah it was Nick…we don't…we can't do this right now." Lee said.

"He was always going out alone, I told him something like this would happen but he wouldn't listen…No, Matt always knew best." Walter gulped.

"What's going on?" Nick whispered, exiting the ski lodge.

"Tell me what you did…just tell me, son. Tell me." Walter said, with a shaky voice, clutching the knife with clenched fists.

"From…from a distance it looked like anyone, I thought he was gonna shoot my friends and I…I shot him…" Nick said nervously. "And it happened real fast, I didn't know if I hit him but I did and…I…didn't mean to."

"Do you know what you've done to me? Do you have any idea?" Walter asked.

"Walt, we need to go…" Lee said.

"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Walter." Nick said.

Walter looked at Nick for a few seconds and threw the knife aside on the ground with a sigh.

"Lee, we're ready to move if we need to. Rebecca and Alvin are still getting their things together, but they shouldn't be long." Kenny said, leaving the lodge with the rest of the group. The group looked over to the whirling wind turbine, reaching high to the sky. "Fuck, that things gonna draw walkers, we need to shut it down!"

"We've got more important things to do." Lee said.

"We need to put-

Lee was cut off by the intense sound of bullets firing in the air, the group crouched down in a panic. Lee being the first to stand up, staring tensely at the gang of people clutching assault rifles and shotguns firing their rounds off into the air. At the front of them: William Carver. Surrounded by Troy, Tavia, Bonnie, Vince, Wyatt and Russell.

"Look who it is!" Carver laughed, slowly clapping. "Shut that thing down."

Russell turned to the wind turbine and shot the control panel, slowing the contraption down gradually.

"Hm…found your little girl in the end, then, did you?" Carver said.

Lee stood stoically, his fists clenched. "Move out my way, Carver." Lee said, calmly.

"Hmph…no…no I don't think so. In fact, instead what you're going to do is hand us all your weapons and surrender." He said, the group still pointing the large guns at them, coldly. Lee looked to the rest of the group with a sigh, and nodded, knowing there was no way good way out, just a better alternative than death. The group stared at Carver as they threw their collective weapons to the ground in front of them. "That was easy. Alright, inside the lodge. Hands above your heads."

"Let's move." Bonnie announced, pointing the gun at the group.

"Bonnie, I-

"Move." Vine said, cutting Luke off.

The group trudged into the lodge, with their hands above their heads. "Line up, one by one." Vince said.

The group did as ordered, standing facing Carver in a single file line, as the group were rounded up and handcuffed. "Now that I have my friends back, let's get things together. Where's Rebecca?" Carver questioned.

"Fuck you." Lee said.

"Wrong answer." Carver said, punching Lee in the mouth. Lee licked the blood from his lip, staring back up at Carver. "You really upset me when you left, Lee. Do you normally just up and leave your friends like that?"

"You expecting an apology?" Lee asked.

"No…grab the girl." Carver said.

"What?" Bonnie asked.

"The girl, get her. And restrain Lee, he won't like this." Carver smirked.

Vince hesitantly stomped round to Lee and held his cuffed hands behind his back.

Bonnie sighed and nervously grabbed Clementine by the collar, lifting her up and standing by Carver, pointing a gun to her head.

"Where's Rebecca?" Carver asked.

"Get fucked." Clementine said, strongly.

"Hey…girls your age shouldn't be using that sort of language. Y'know when I talked like that in front of my old man, he would give me ten lashings with his belt. You'll find I'm a lot more sympathetic." Carver said, backhanding Clementine around the face.

Lee struggled, attempting to get out of his restraints, but to no avail.

"Rebecca, where is she?" Carver asked.

Lee struggled again, finally feeling something loosen in his restraints. Not wondering how it happened, Lee took it to his advantage, pulling and tugging on the cloth until it came looser. Lee quickly snapped around Vince, taking the pistol from his holster and pressing it up against his neck. "Let her go." Lee said.

"No, you won't shoot him." Carver said.

"Who do you think I'd rather see killed, my friend, or my family?" Lee growled, pressing his finger gently on the pistol.

"Lee! No!" Clem yelled.

"Family now, is she?" Carver asked. "Go ahead, pull the trigger, but we'll shoot your girl. Think I care about an expendable man that I have ten of?"

"Bill! Stop! Let her go!" Rebecca cried from the lodge balcony.

Rebecca and Alvin approached William. Alvin standing to the side, joining the rest of the group. "You alright?" William asked, touching Rebecca's face.

"Fuck you, Bill." Rebecca said before joining the rest of the group.

"Let the girl go. Get them into the truck, let's get back home…" Carver sneered.

 **Outlived is back everyone! Hope you enjoyed! Also, I'm afraid you shouldn't expect these every day, or in a regular pattern. I've decided to just write when I'm inspired. But it won't take as long as this :)**


	19. In Harm's Way

**So I got a request from Lainey that I need to add more to my writing, instead of what's in the actual story. Which is very fair enough.**

 **So thanks for that, Lainey! If you guys have anything else to improve my writing, let me know!**

"If she leaves this truck, I'm going with her." Lee said.

"Alright, you pervert." Troy chuckled, breathily, dragging Lee out of the truck.

"Boy, you're lucky I've got these bindings on." Lee growled.

"Oh yeah?" Troy grunted.

"Yeah, or do you not remember that time with Bonnie?" Lee said.

Troy took a step back and sighed. "Just…go watch girls piss or whatever…" Troy mumbled.

Lee walked over to a private spot with Clementine and Sarah. He leaned against a nearby tree whilst Sarah tiptoed into the forest. Lee looked over to Clem who was staring at something on the bark. "You alright?" Lee asked.

"I'm okay…" Clem said.

"That was the first time I heard you swear." Lee scoffed.

Clem smiled, still focused on the tree bark.

"Just don't do it again, you monkey!" Lee chuckled, snatching Clem's hat off her head and ruffling her hair.

Clem giggled and took the hat back, placing it on her head again.

"Hey! You about done over there? Hurry up so I can puke…" Troy yelled.

"Yeah, one second!" Sarah said, re-joining Clem and Lee.

"You alright?" Lee asked.

"Yeah…thanks for coming with me, it's scary out here." Sarah said.

"I wasn't going to leave either of you alone with him, you girls stay away from that guy, alright?" Lee whispered.

"Okay." Clem said.

"Promise." Sarah said.

The two approached the truck, Lee following closely behind.

"Everything come out alright, girls?" Troy asked quietly, with a sick grin on his face.

Lee pushed through the two and stared at Troy for a few seconds.

"Settle down. Get the girls tied up and get Lee in the back of the truck before he beats the crap out of you." Carver interrupted.

"Will do." Troy said, opening the back of the truck.

"Well, we're on our way. Probably about thirty minutes out. Make sure everyone's prepped. Emotions might be running high. Carver out." Carver said into his walkie-talkie.

Troy pushed Lee into the truck, moving him to the front of it, furthest away from the door, and attaching his cuffs to a beam running across the interior of the truck.

"If I find out I've been wasting fuel to keep that fucking heater going I'll make you walk back." Carver said.

"Nope, froze my ass off, just like you told me too." Troy said as he grabbed Sarah's arms, tying them harshly together with a piece of rope.

Clem stared at Carver and his walkie-talkie. She found herself unable to take her eyes off of it. She remembered it was the same one she and her parents used to have. Carver looked over to Clem, Lee looked over at her, standing as high up as the cuffs let him, tugging on them, about to say something but was cut off by Troy slamming the back of the truck shut, with a wicked smirk.

"It ain't polite to listen other folk's conversations." Carver said. Clem didn't say anything, instead just kept staring, having nothing to say to Carver. William walked over to her with a smile and threw his hand across her face, landing Clem on the floor with a scream.

"No!" Sarah yelled, being held back by Troy. "Don't hit my friend!"

"You don't want to test me girl. I'll pass every time." Carver said, calmly.

"Leave her alone!" Sarah said.

Carver stared over at Sarah, who stepped back and looked down at her feet.

"Tie her up and throw her in the back with the rest of them." Carver said, walking over to the front seat of the truck.

Bonnie walked over and held her hand out for Clementine. Clem took her hand and helped herself up. Bonnie looked at her and smiled, placing her hand on Clementine's shoulder.

Troy snatched Clem's hands and tied them up with rope like he had done with Sarah and slowly opened the back of the truck.

Troy opened the back of the truck and pointed a revolver at the two, gesturing them to get in. "You guys okay?" Kenny asked. "The hell did he do to you? Did he hurt you? Hey. Hey!"

"Motherfucker! You better hope you don't see me again!" Lee yelled

Troy smirked and slammed the back of the truck shut.

Lee looked over to Clementine. "What did he do?" He asked

"He hit me, but it's okay, it didn't hurt. I'm fine." Clementine said.

"Who? Troy? Carver?" Lee asked.

"Carver." Sarah said

Lee clenched his fists and punched the metal floor. "He's fucking dead…"

"Whoa, buddy calm down." Kenny said.

"What's wrong? Is it the bite?" Rebecca asked.

"No, this is a different thing. It's what happens when someone hurts my girl." Lee growled.

"Hey, look we all just need to calm down. We need to get out of this, alright?" Kenny said.

"What good would that do?" Rebecca asked.

Lee took a few deep breaths, drowning everyone's voice out. After getting himself back together he looked up at the group. "Everyone, think about this." Lee said. "Just calm down. We'll get out of this, but I need everyone to do as I say."

"Alright…" Kenny said.

"Go on." Carlos said.

"What's your plan?" Clem asked.

"Well we can't do anything right now. My plan is to get back to Howe's. It's well fortified, he'll put us in the prison, get us to work, but we'll be together, with other prisoners who hate him as much as we do. We'll think of something then, for now, just stay calm. I promise you, we'll be alright..." Lee said.


	20. Howe's Hardware

"Alright, up and at 'em." Tavia commanded.

The group stood up and reluctantly made their way out of the back of the truck and into the storage warehouse.

Troy walked over to Lee with a grimace, unlocking his cuffs from the beam and quickly attached them to Lee's other wrist. "Up." Troy ordered. Lee stood up with Troy tugging on his shirt collar, and pushed him forward, moving him to the back of the group. "Those cuffs making you uncomfortable, Lee? It's just how you started, huh?"

"What?" Sarita asked.

"Oh, you didn't tell 'em?" Troy said.

"Boy, you better watch it…" Kenny said.

"Shut the hell up." Lee growled.

"Troy, just keep 'em moving…" Tavia said.

"We've got some familiar faces back with us tonight. Now I understand some of you are confused as to why we'd bring these back, when they left us as they did." The speakers of the warehouse blared, with Carver's voice.

"Think I've got an idea." Rebecca mumbled.

"It might not come all at once, but time will heal these wounds. So be patient with them until it does…and take solace that they're here to make our home a better place. All these feelings you have of anger…betrayal…hate, they're all valid." Carver continued, as Tavia, Troy and Bonnie all escorted the group through the bending hallway of wooden shelves and storage containers. "No one needs to forget what they did. But we do have to find it in our hearts to forgive them."

"Look at how much food they have…" Clem mentioned as they passed a shelf of canned food.

"I hope you're not saying what I think you're saying." Kenny said.

"As many of you already know a large heard of lurkers gathers south of us. We've been keeping an eye on them…" Carver said.

"C'mon, we need you for something." Troy said, looking to Carlos, waving his finger towards himself.

"Can it wait until morning? We're all exhausted." Carlos said.

"Just come the fuck on…" Troy said, walking away from the group, Carlos following hesitantly behind him.

Sarah looked over to him leave with wide eyes. "I…I need him, I need my dad…" She whimpered. "I can't…he's…he looks after me…"

Troy looked over to Sarah, after handing Carlos off to another woman, which Lee had never really gotten to know. Troy gestured with his eye brow to continue walking with the group, then continue on behind the escort.

"It's okay, Sarah. You're still with us." Lee said, with a calm smile.

"I…but…" Sarah gulped.

"He'll be back." Clem said.

"When?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know, but he will come back." Clem said.

"She's right." Lee said with a smile.

"Thanks guys…" Sarah said nervously.

"Make sure ya'll stay off the fence…Bill can see if you're messin' with it." Bonnie said, unlocking a large shutter gate.

"Thanks, Bonnie…" Nick said, as him and the group moved through the gate into a large open area. The prison of the warehouse. Lee wasn't sure what it was used for before the apocalypse, but whenever he saw the poor souls working in it, he never envied them. The place was cold and wet, with grass and weeds sprouting in between the cracks of the old tiles. The prison only had one source of heat, the fire surrounded by small deck chairs in the centre of the prison.

Troy and Tavia went round the group, undoing their bindings. "Ya'll better get some rest, 'cause they're ain't gonna be much for you tommara'. You're gonna be workin' hard." Troy said.

"That's for you." Bonnie said to Rebecca, looking over to a small bed, as opposed to the small sleeping bags on the ground for everyone else.

"Yeah…it would be. Fuckin' Bill. Keeps me out in the cold, but at least I'm comfortable…" Rebecca huffed, with her arms crossed.

"Hey guys." Reggie said, walking over to the group.

"Reggie!" Rebecca gasped.

"Hey, Reg." Lee said, walking over to him. Reggie wasn't how he remembered, the main feature being his missing arm. It was only rumoured to Lee before he left to look for Clem, but Reggie was said to have been bitten, and had his arm cut off before the disease could spread.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry what'd they do to you?" Rebecca cried, pulling Reggie into a hug.

"This could have been worse, trust me. I'm lucky to be alive." Reggie said, looking at his amputated arm.

"It's my fault." Nick sighed.

"No it's not. I'd tell you if it was. This happened well after you guys left." Reggie said. "I was working outside, lurker snuck up on me while I was hammering something. Luckily they took the arm off quick."

"Alvin, Carver wants you in his office." Tavia said, returning back to the group.

"What? Why?" Alvin asked, nervously.

"Don't make this more difficult. It's too late for that." Tavia said.

"No, please!" Rebecca begged.

"It's okay, Bec. Just get some rest. If he wanted to do something to me he already would have." Alvin said. Alvin continued down the hall with Tavia, looking back at Rebecca with a calm smile.

"Hey, Reggie." Troy said.

"Oh…Hey Troy." Reggie said.

"Don't go fuckin' up now. Bill's real close to letting you out again." Troy threatened. "You be sure to keep things nice and quiet out here tonight and I'll let Bill know just how helpful you were…"

"Yeah, you can count on me. Thanks Troy." Reggie said.

"Oh, right. Let me introduce you." Rebecca said.

"Yeah. This is Sarita." Lee said.

"Hello." Sarita said.

"This is my old pal, Kenny. I just met back up with him. We go back to the start of this thing." Lee said.

"Wow, that's whacky." Reggie said. "Who's this?"

Reggie looked over to Clem with wide eyes.

"This is-

"Is that who I think it is?" Reggie gasped.

"I'm Clementine." She said, awkwardly.

"So you finally found her! He talked about you a lot, Clementine!" Reggie said.

"He did?" Clem asked.

"Yeah, y'know, you're not really how he mentioned you…" Reggie said.

"Oh…I'm not?" She said, slightly sadly.

"That was two years ago." Lee cut in. "And I wouldn't change you for the world."

"Nice save…" Clem smirked.

"I thought so." Lee said. "Come on, like Troy said, we'll be working hard tomorrow. We better get some rest."


	21. Welcome Home

**I'll be honest here, this may not become a regular thing, I just thought I'd get another chapter out here and depending on the feedback I may pick this up again. Thanks to Secret life of writing for suggesting this. :)**

 **Enjoy! :D**

Lee slowly opened his eyes. He was next to Clementine who was fast asleep and cuddled up to him. He looked around, Troy was behind him kicking his back to wake him up. "Have fun spoonin'? Get up." Troy grunted, in his raspy voice.

By now Clementine was sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Lee smiled at Clem and rubbed her back before gesturing to get up. He stood up on his feet and joined the group of survivors gathered by the gate of the make-shift cell. The gate flung open as Clem and Lee joined the crowed. Bill walked through, with a blood stained brown coat. "There's been increased walker activity along the fence. So be mindful while along the walls. The herd's moved a little closer as of this morning, but that still doesn't necessarily mean we'll be hit." Bill started. "Know we're monitoring the situation. Now...there might be some folks who are sore about what happened, about how things went…but that's all in the past."

Lee ignored what Bill was saying, just going over in his head how much of an asshole Bill was. He was brought out of his thoughts by Sarah talking to Clementine. "How'd you sleep?" Sarah whispered. "I was so tired…"

"Pay attention…" Clementine mumbled. "We'll talk later okay?"

Lee smiled at Clem's answer, reassuring him that she was still the, although smart, kind and sweet little girl he knew.

"Okay…yeah, sounds good." Sarah said, quietly, looking back at Bill. "I just thought it was nice to finally-

"Carlos!" Bill yelled.

"…Yes…?" Carlos asked, nervously.

"Your child seems to be in need of correction…" Bill said.

"I'm…sorry, I…Sarah, apologise to Mr. Carver." Carlos said.

"I'm…I'm sorry, sir." Sarah stuttered.

"No…No, that ain't gonna cut it." Bill smirked.

"Bill…" Lee said, warning Carver.

"Nah, I can't have this kind of behaviour on day one of your reform…" William said. "You discipline her now, Carlos."

"How do you propose that I-

"One good smack across the mouth should do it. It'll make her think twice before opening it up again. Go on, we'll wait." Bill said.

Carlos looked at Sarah with large sad eyes, then back at Bill. "I'm not sure with my hand, that I could-

"That's why you've got two hands, Carlos. Now go on. Not some weak-ass slap. A good hard smack. Otherwise Troy here will do it for ya'." Carver threatened. "And you don't want that…do you Carlos?"

"It's my fault!" Clementine cried.

Carver looked at Lee and then Clementine with a vicious smirk. "Hey, nobody's talkin' to you." Troy yelled.

"Nah, nah…hang on, Troy. If she says it's her fault…it could well be." Bill chuckled. "And that means it's not Carlos that needs to correct Sarah…it's Lee that needs to correct Clementine…"

Lee clenched his fists and stormed through the group of people, only stopping directly in front of Carver because of the raised weapons pointed in his direction. Bill stared into his eyes with a smug look on his face.

"Don't you fuckin' touch her!" Kenny warned.

"Shut up." Troy growled.

"Do it, Lee. Or I will." Bill said.

Lee turned around and approached Clementine. Clem looked up at Lee and nodded, closing her eyes. Lee raised his arm up and hesitantly hit Clementine across her face with a shaky, but firm hand. Clementine stumbled, almost falling to the ground, but managed to keep herself on her feet.

"There we go. Wasn't so hard, was it…? Figuratively speaking of course." Carver laughed along with Troy. Lee turned around and stared at Carver. "Lee, you'll find your job with Vince and Wyatt. They're at the loading bay. Troy'll take you."

Lee looked back at Clementine who smiled at him back. Lee let go a sigh of relief and smiled at her as he walked next to Troy out of the cell. "How'd that feel? Good?" Troy asked.

"I'll kick your ass, Troy." Lee said.

"I'll let that one go. Just wait until you see what Carver's got in store for you." Troy said, stopping next to a door marked 'Loading Bay' in old faded white paint.

What Troy said made Lee slightly nervous, although he tried to put up a front that Carver wasn't a threat to him, he knew he was insane, and wouldn't hesitate to cut Lee down where he stood if he happened to stop enjoying playing with Lee's mind so much.

Lee walked through the door to see a huge empty warehouse with three closed shutters at the far side of the doors he walked through. Wyatt and Vince stood in the middle of the room, talking to each other, looking over to the double doors Lee was standing in front of. He gulped and walked over to the two.

Vince and Wyatt stayed silent until Lee was directly in front of them. "…Hey…" Lee said, trying to break the awkward silence.

Wyatt instantly began to tear up and threw himself at Lee, wrapping his arms around him in a tight embrace. Lee was caught off guard by this, and slowly returned the hug. "Jesus fucking Christ…" Wyatt sobbed. "What happened man?"

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, buddy." Lee said, tearing up slightly. "I should never have left."

Wyatt left the hug and took a deep breath, drying his eyes. "No…no, I get it. I hear it payed off." Wyatt said.

"It sure did." Lee did, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

"Hey, Lee…buddy." Vince said.

"Hey, Vince." Lee said, putting his arm out in front of Vince.

Vince shook Lee's hand with a smile and a small nod. "We're here for you, Lee. You and Clementine. Bonnie, well…not so much." Vince said, rubbing the back of his head.

"I need to speak to her." Lee said.

"I don't know, man. She's pissed. And Carver's been on high alert since you came back, everyone has to keep acting like they hate you just to stay on his good side." Wyatt sighed.

"We've been wanting to speak to you since we heard you'd come back. What's the plan?" Vince asked.

"What?" Lee asked. "What plan?"

"We're not staying here." Vince said.

"We need to get out of here. Somehow." Wyatt said.

"Give me a few days. We'll get out of here." Lee said. "I promise."


	22. Repairs

Lee and Wyatt walked over to the door that Troy was still waiting outside of. Just before they walked out, Wyatt turned Lee around and slapped him across the face. "What the fuck?!" Lee mumbled, angrily, making sure Troy wouldn't hear him.

"He'll expect some kind of mark," Wyatt whispered, shrugging his shoulders.

Wyatt pushed Lee through the double doors, violently. Lee stumbled across the floor stopping himself on the walls of the hallway opposite the door. "Simmer down there, Walter." Troy laughed.

"It's Wyatt, Troy," Wyatt said.

"Whatever, let's move it, asshole," Troy said, pointing his assault rifle in Lee's direction.

"Actually, I'm not quite done with Lee yet," Wyatt said.

"For fucks sake." Troy groaned.

"Is there a problem here, Troy?" Vince said, walking through the door a few seconds behind Wyatt. Troy backed up slightly. Troy was always weary around Vince, being much shorter than him.

"Get him back here in five minutes. Don't fuck it up, or you'll end up in the chair." Troy threatened.

Vince and Wyatt lead Lee down the hallway. Lee knew the layout like the back of his hand, he knew it was quite a long walk from the loading bay to the armory. On the way Lee noticed Tavia walking around a corner, Clementine was following her, keeping her best to distance herself from her. She was wearing a thick blue skiing jacket, slightly small for her. Lee smiled at her and Clementine ran passed Tavia and up to Lee.

Lee crouched down and hugged her tightly. "Baby, I'm so sorry!" Lee said, quickly breaking off the hug to inspect Clementine's face. "Are you okay, are you hurt?"

"I'm okay. Really." Clementine said, hugging Lee one more time.

"Hey, get back here," Tavia commanded. Clementine slowly and hesitantly moved back to Tavia.

Vince clenched his fists, but swallowed his annoyance, needing to keep the act up that he hated Lee. "Tavia…" Wyatt started.

"You have something to say?" Tavia asked, staring Wyatt in the eyes.

Vince looked over to Wyatt and shook his head. "No. Nothing. Where are you taking Clem- the girl?" Wyatt stuttered.

"Taking her up to the greenhouses with Reggie," Tavia answered.

Lee sighed in relief with a smile, he didn't know Reggie well but he knew that he was too useless to do anything that put her in harm's way.

"Carry on," Vince said, moving out of Tavia and Clem's way. Tavia led Clementine down the hallway and up the stairs to the roof.

The three carried on down to the armory. "I'm sorry, man," Wyatt said, quietly.

"It's alright. She's safe. And if it turns out Reggie's done anything in any way to hurt her, he loses the other arm." Lee said.

The three carried on down the hallway, stopping outside the door labeled 'Armoury' in white dripped paint. Wyatt opened the door and stepped through, whilst Vince and Lee stayed outside.

Lee's heart beat heavily, he didn't know how she would react after he left the group in her and Wyatt's time of need. After hearing how angry she was, and how angry she appeared when she first saw him again at the ski lodge, his hopes weren't high.

"Bonnie, there's someone who wants to talk with you," Wyatt said nervously.

Lee took a deep breath and stepped through the door. Bonnie stood up and walked slowly towards Lee. Wyatt stood awkwardly between the two and slowly backed out the door.

Lee looked at Bonnie and she looked back at him for a few seconds. Lee opened his mouth to speak. "Save it." Bonnie sighed, clenching her fists, storming back over to her seat at the far end of the armory, in front of a small desk with a box of ammunition underneath.

"Bonnie, I'm so sorry," Lee said.

"You're sorry?" Bonnie asked. "You're sorry?!" Bonnie smashed her fist down on the desk and looked back at Lee.

"I wish I could've stayed, but this place was falling apart and my girl was out there!" Lee said, trying to stay calm.

"So you thought you'd leave your friends when we needed you most?!" Bonnie yelled. "You don't deserve that girl. She loves you, she loves you more than anything. She told me when you found her she had to keep pinchin' herself because she thought she was havin' the best dream she had since the world ended!" Bonnie argued.

"Don't," Lee said.

"Don't? Don't what?! Don't tell you how it is because nobody else will? Don't tell you how you abandoned your friends? Don't tell you how much of an asshole you are? Don't what?" Bonnie yelled. "Tell me, Lee because I'm dyin' to know!"

Lee began walking over to Bonnie. "Don't tell me I don't deserve that girl. She's everything to me. She's…she's my daughter!" Lee yelled at the top of his voice.

Bonnie was taken back by this. Her angry, yet confident stature was broken, she stood back like she always did and sighed. Bonnie looked back at Lee and began to tear up. "It's been so difficult…" Bonnie cried, wrapping her arms around Lee's neck.

Lee sighed and hugged her back. "I know, Bonnie. I know." Lee said.

"How could you?" Bonnie sighed, breaking off the hug. "Lee, Bill is getting crazier by the minute!"

"Keep your voice down!" Lee ordered.

"I know…but…that's what he is! He's turning into a fucking psychopath." Bonnie grunted, kicking a nearby filing cabinet. "We can't...we can't stay here."

"I know. I'm going to get us out of here, somehow…but you need to trust me." Lee said.

Bonnie looked over at him and took a deep breath. "I don't know, Lee…how am I supposed to trust you after everything that's happened?" Bonnie asked, sadly.

"You just need to." Lee sighed, not having any other excuse.

Bonnie stared into Lee's eyes, sincerely and after hesitation slowly nodded. "Alright. Don't make me regret it."

"You won't," Lee said, placing his hand comfortingly on Bonnie's shoulder.

 **So, again not much has happened. Just fixing some broken relationships. More to come tomorrow, if not the next day :D**


End file.
